The FAA on Thursday said it is proposing a $300,000 civil penalty for American Airlines due to another alleged maintenance violation.
Last week, the FAA proposed a $787,500 penalty for three alleged maintenance violations.
Plus, the FAA last month proposed two fines totaling $5.4 million for regional subsidiary American Eagle.
Some of the fines have occurred following a February report by the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General saying that the FAA’s oversight of American’s maintenance program was lax.
In the latest case, the FAA alleges that on Feb. 2, 2009, American mechanics diagnosed an inoperative panel light on an MD-82 and deferred maintenance, which is allowed.
However, maintenance personnel determined the next day that the inoperative part was the captain’s pitot probe heater, the FAA said. Pitot probes are mounted on the exterior surfaces of an airplane and are used in measuring airspeed. Because they can be affected by a buildup of ice, pitot probes are equipped with heaters.
Maintenance on the pitot probe heater can be deferred for an MD-82, said the FAA, but flights must be restricted to daytime only, in visual meteorological conditions. Flights into known or forecasted icing or visible moisture are prohibited.
Because mechanics logged the discrepancy as an inoperative panel light, the flight crew was unaware that the daytime restrictions applied to further flights, the FAA said. The aircraft was operated on five passenger flights in violation of federal regulations, said the FAA.
American Airlines has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s civil penalty letter to respond to the agency.
