Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - FAA fines Alaska & Horizon Air for safety violations

FAA fines Alaska Air & Horizon Air for safety violations. They did not have a safety inspections the entire aircraft.

http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=13513

http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=13512

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There was an ADN article on this yesterday that AS replied the maintenance was done but not documented properly.

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There was an ADN article on this yesterday that AS replied the maintenance was done but not documented properly.

It saddens me that after all the publicity that AS has had with respect to maintenance that they still have no attention to detail.

IMHO, if it is not documented correctly, then it is not done correctly.

I did not see this posted...never a good thing...

MSNBC: FAA fines Alaska and Horizon for aircraft maintenance violations (http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/03/11523020-faa-fines-alaska-and-horizon-for-aircraft-maintenance-violations?lite)
The FAA has proposed a penalty of $210,000 against Alaska Airlines for "allegedly failing to properly document and tag deactivated systems and equipment before making repairs," according to a statement released today.

These safety measures, the FAA said, are designed to reduce hazards to maintenance technicians and prevent damage to the aircraft and onboard systems. The FAA alleges that the airline failed to install the appropriate danger tag on 10 occasions between June 19, 2010, and January 13, 2011, when it serviced six Boeing 737 jets.

See just below:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/alaska-airlines-mileage-plan/1342891-faa-fines-alaska-horizon-air-safety-violations.html

210,000 is such a small financial penalty it doesn't even make a rounding error in quarterly numbers. What a joke if this is really a serious safety issue.

Merged the threads.

210,000 is such a small financial penalty it doesn't even make a rounding error in quarterly numbers. What a joke if this is really a serious safety issue.

IIRC, these things are set by law, and the amounts are never truly punative for large corporations. The symbolism of being fined, though, is a serious stigma--more serious than any financial penalty (well, unless you propose fines in the tens-of-millions-of-dollars range, which might put a small carrier out of business completely).

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There was an ADN article on this yesterday that AS replied the maintenance was done but not documented properly.

Here's the ADN article: http://www.adn.com/2012/05/03/2450940/faa-seeks-to-fine-alaska-horizon.html

Here's the ADN article: http://www.adn.com/2012/05/03/2450940/faa-seeks-to-fine-alaska-horizon.html

Interesting, Alaska gets fined over $600K for inspection violations and stock goes up? Be nice to see Alaska get aggressively on top of this issue and publicize the changes they've made. Who wants to think the plane you are flying in over hours of ocean hasn't been inspected properly.

Here's the ADN article: http://www.adn.com/2012/05/03/2450940/faa-seeks-to-fine-alaska-horizon.html

I read that article on GoGo in seat 2D while flying PDX-ANC the other day. I think my seatmate was a little unnerved when he happened to glance over to my iPad.

I would hope that the financial incentive to avoid fines is overshadowed by the PR fallout of the findings. Or has it been too long since the jack-screw disaster for the public to remember, or for management to care?

IIRC, the maintenance manger was canned. But it is always the top management's responsibility, no matter who the maintenance manager is.