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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Southwest fined $12M for subpar plane repairs

The Columbian
Published:

WASHINGTON — Southwest Airlines may have to pay one of the largest fines in Federal Aviation Administration history for continuing to fly some airplanes after being told that repairs to the aircraft didn’t live up to U.S. regulations.

The FAA is proposing a $12 million civil penalty against Southwest, which carries the most passengers in the U.S., for operating “numerous flights” in 2009 with inadequate repairs to the fuselage skins. The maintenance in question was designed to eliminate potential cracks on 44 of the airline’s Boeing 737s, according to a statement Monday by the FAA.

The fine would be the second major civil penalty against the Dallas-based airline for maintenance lapses since 2008. The issues raised by the FAA were resolved and don’t relate to any aircraft currently used, Southwest said in an emailed statement.

“Southwest is committed to continuously making enhancements to our internal procedures, as well as improvements related to oversight of our repair vendors,” it said.

The repairs to the aluminum skin of the planes were done by a Southwest contractor, Everett-based Aviation Technical Services Inc., according to the FAA. Under U.S. law, airlines are responsible for repairs made by other companies.

Southwest has 30 days to respond to the proposed fine. The FAA often lowers penalties after negotiating with airlines.

In the latest Southwest case, workers at Aviation Technical Services starting in 2006 applied the aircraft skin repairs in an unapproved way that may have allowed moisture to penetrate the skin, leading to corrosion. Workers also didn’t apply fasteners in all the required rivet holes, according to the release.

During the work, ATS failed to properly support the planes, which may compromise the repair work, FAA said.

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