Southwest Rapid Rewards - Remember those SWA Maintenance Problems?

Yeah, I still feel safe on SWA. Compared to this, that was nothing...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - AMR Corp's American Airlines operated jets later found to have substandard repairs, and federal regulators are probing allegations that at least one plane was considered unsafe to fly at normal cruise altitude, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

-snip-

FAA inspectors are pursuing allegations by pilots that one of those MD-80s was believed to be in such poor condition that it was ferried without passengers from Dallas to the carrier's Tulsa, Oklahoma maintenance base at unusually low altitudes to avoid the stress of pressurizing the fuselage during the trip, the newspaper said.

-snip-

But people familiar with the investigation said American potentially faces millions of dollars in civil penalties stemming from the widening investigation, and the FAA is also considering the unusual tactic of eventually taking punitive action against individual mechanics or supervisors who may have signed off on substandard work.


Read the whole article (http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE59G1GR20091017?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews)

FAA inspectors are pursuing allegations by pilots that one of those MD-80s was believed to be in such poor condition that it was ferried without passengers from Dallas to the carrier's Tulsa, Oklahoma maintenance base at unusually low altitudes to avoid the stress of pressurizing the fuselage during the trip, the newspaper said.


This occurs on every airline. I believe each flight has to apply for an individual ferry permit, but having this happen is not out of the ordinary. Especially if an aircraft develops a pressurization problem away from a maintenance base.

Far more concerning, IMO, was a United 737 that was flown with shop towels (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tc-biz-faa-1014-1015oct15,0,5695784.story)in the engine.

A shop towel used as an oil cap is a lot more concerning than a few missed inspections. Would you drive your car with a rag stuffed in the oil fill hole? Seems a lot like having a gasoline soaked rag substituting for a gas cap -- a serious fire danger.

Turns out that the higher fares, bag fees and change fees over at AA and UA do NOT result in "more" safety, as some over on the UA boards implied.