FAA Proposes Nearly $1 Million Alaska Air Fine

W A S H I N G T O N, Dec. 4, 2000 — The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed nearly $1 million in civil penalties against Alaska Airlines for maintenance violations and for allegedly flying aircraft in violation of federal aviation regulations.

Alaska Air has been under intense scrutiny since Flight 261 crashed Jan. 31 into the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, killing all 88 aboard.

The National Transportation Safety Board has not determined the cause of that disaster, but suspicion has fallen on mechanical controls in the tail.

After an inspection of the airline’s maintenance work, the FAA threatened in May to bar Alaska from doing heavy maintenance on its planes. That would have had the effect of grounding the airline until maintenance procedures were improved.

That penalty was not imposed, but the FAA has been monitoring the airline’s maintenance procedures closely. In June the airline’s top maintenance official took early retirement.

Alaska Airlines spokesman Jack Evans said the FAA’s proposed fines were based on a special “white glove” audit of the airline, and the company believes that problems raised by that special inspection have already been addressed with a “comprehensive action plan,” which includes reviewing their quality assurance on heavy maintenance checks, a review of the maintenance manual, and plans to hire 70 additional mechanics.

According to sources, the airline does not know yet if it will appeal the amount of the fine.

Maintenance Problems Cited

One fine that the FAA has proposed, in the amount of $878,500, would cover several separate incidents, including:

Repeated incidences of MD-80 and 737 aircraft being returned to service with maintenance problems that were either not fixed or improperly deferred, incomplete maintenance records, or without conducting required inspections.

For example, on April 12, 2000, one MD-80 was returned to service with a hydraulic leak, a fuel leak and passenger oxygen masks due to be changed.

As a result, Alaska operated aircraft on thousands of flights that failed to comply with its General Maintenance Manual, Continuing Airworthiness Maintenance Program and operations specifications.

On April 8, 2000, an Alaska 737 was allegedly operated with a functioning glideslope (an instrument that provides vertical guidance) that had previously failed a test. The glideslope was improperly cleared for service by an unqualified mechanic, the FAA said.

From April 20, 1999, to April 8, 2000, Alaska Airlines allegedly operated one 737 and two MD-80 aircraft with maintenance improperly deferred on items under its Minimum Equipment List, including a drain valve power circuit breaker and a stair light.

Another proposed civil penalty is a fine of $110,000 against for allegedly operating a MD-80 aircraft on at least 1,300 flights without a properly functioning digital flight data recorder.

ABCNEWS’ Lisa Stark and The Associated Press contributed to this report.