Independence Air iClub - Maintenance and safety

Maybe somebody can tackle this for me...Indy has been hit with a $1.5MM FAA fine for maintenance violations, and from appearances, they are pretty serious. Indy charaterizes the problems as record-keeping resulting from new maintenance tracking software, but one has to be suspect when these sort of issues come up and get the amount of press this penalty has. Apparently, it's not the first time the company has been slapped by the FAA.

My question is this: How safe are their aircraft? How well trained are the cockpit crews to handle in-flight emergencies? And given the constant pressure to reign in costs, how well can the maintenence crews do their job? What about spare parts? What about their contracts with outside maintenance providers? How do they compare to the other low-cost and legacy carriers in terms of aircraft maintenace, crew qualification, and subcontractor oversight and quality?

Although the equipment is quite new, the nature of their routes would indicate a lot of cycles which takes its toll on the airframe and engines, so the maintenance issue strikes me as pretty significant.

My guess is that the FAA is looking very closely at everything going on with Indy regarding maintenance, crew qualifications, and flight safety given their dire financial situation. But if anybody has any insight into this, I'd be very interested to hear it.

I've never been a "white-knuckle flyer," but the curent situation with Indy (as well UA, USAir, Delta, and NWA) sort of raises my adrenaline levels when I board their equipment...I felt very secure in my Air Force days flying on military aircraft, and my recent experience on Lufthansa was first-rate...especially since they are profitable (and the EU has even more rigorous standards than the FAA). So, is my elevated adrenaline level misplaced?

My impression of Indpendence Air is that of total professionalism within the airline. All their employees want to keep working and the last thing they want is a Value Jet situation.

My impression of Indpendence Air is that of total professionalism within the airline..

ummm....did you ever fly out of LAX? ok...I know the ground crew was a contract (and I'll out myself as one of the contract workers), but the airline never provided adequate planning/training for the flights to the station IMHO. I'll be honest, I never flew onboard so the experience could be a world apart, but my limited contact with DH gave me the impression that they are dis-organized. DH ceased flying out of LAX last Friday, and has been upable to contact a few PAX who are still showing up at the airport expecting to fly.

All their employees want to keep working and the last thing they want is a Value Jet situation.

the last thing any airlines want is another Value Jet situation.

I think jaguar hit the nail on the head, not only do the regular employees want to keep working, but the management at DH knows that the idea of saving money by cutting corners on safety related items is flawed and dangerous (dangerous not only for the employees and passengers, but it also puts the company at risk). The fact that the company found the problem and disclosed the information themselves to the FAA tells me that they weren't trying to hide something. I am a DH employee and I feel completely comfortable flying on DH with my family.

As far as DH's track record with the FAA, they have actually been recognized for their maintenance training program for several years in a row. http://www.flyi.com/company/pressarchive/2005/may/051005.aspx

An air carrier that is cutting corners and engaging in shady maintenance practices would not take the initiative to report the error to the FAA before it is uncovered by that agency or some other authority. DH did.


Cheers.

As an ex-DH family we saw some of the maintenance stuff, and they're not interested in causing any problems or intentionally cutting corners but like most business today are definately trying to squeeze all of the efficiency and use out of their mechanics and staff that they can. I'd heard about the issue in question before it was published by the FAA since it was sent in the internal newsletter. I'd believe the "paperwork" was just misplaced and that work wasn't done, but the rest of the maintenance checks and pilot walkarounds were completed. It's not like the flight crew tried to get on the plane while intoxicated (HP situation if you don't know).

I don't have any problem flying with them -- I've done it a number of times. I'd be more worried about NW right now than anyone else, especially with some of the news that's come out in the last few days. DH still has their staff that knows their planes.