Southwest: Boeing, FAA okayed continued operation of 737 Classics, fine 'unfair'
Monday March 10, 2008
Southwest Airlines claimed that both Boeing and US FAA approved its continued operation of 46 737 Classics for nine days in March 2007 even though the aircraft had not undergone required inspections, expressing dismay at the size of the agency's proposed fine for alleged safety lapses.
FAA last week proposed a record $10.2 million civil penalty against the LCC for "deliberate violations" of an agency airworthiness directive, alleging that it repeatedly operated 46 737 Classics that did not undergo inspections to detect fuselage skin fatigue cracking as mandated in 2004 (ATWOnline, March 7).
"We've got a 37-year history of very safe operations, one of the safest operations in the world," SWA CEO Gary Kelly said in comments e-mailed to reporters. "We're disappointed, obviously, with the fine. It is unprecedented and we think it is unfair."
The airline contacted FAA on March 15, 2007, to disclose that it had been operating the aircraft without conducting the required inspections. Kelly blamed the oversight on "a gap in our documentation. We voluntarily reported that." FAA is proposing to fine SWA just $200,000 for that lapse, crediting it for self-disclosure.
But it is proposing an additional $10 million penalty for continuing to fly the 46 aircraft through March 23 without conducting the inspections, saying that the carrier knew it was noncompliant yet operated an additional 1,451 flights over nine days.
SWA said that when it made its voluntary disclosure on March 15, it developed a "10-day compliance plan" in which it would continue to operate the aircraft "for up to 10 days until the airplanes could be reinspected." It said it consulted Boeing and that the manufacturer found the plan "technically valid." Boeing said in a statement last week that "the safety of the Southwest fleet was not compromised."
Kelly said the airline believed FAA approved the plan. "Our interpretation of the guidance that we got from the FAA at the time was that we were in compliance with all laws and regulations," he said. "I think the FAA has a different view of that today."
SWA acknowledges that it found "small cracking" on six of the 46 fuselages during inspections. "With respect to those cracks. . .the Boeing Company said that at no time were those cracks unsafe," Kelly said.
by Aaron Karp