Sky Talk

FAA auditing American Airlines safety procedures

The Federal Aviation Administration will begin an extensive audit, called an Air Carrier Evaluation Process, at American Airlines on April 1, company officials said today. We have a story on the review here at Star-Telegram.com.

The review stems from last year's inspection lapses at American, Southwest and other airlines, and could result in fines if FAA investigators find problems. During a briefing with union leaders, an American official reportedly said that "there are people on Capitol Hill who believe that AA does not have the mindset to maintain safety."

That's according to a March 20 letter from Bob Owens, president of TWU Local 562. In it he also says that company officials warned that big fines could mean layoffs, a claim that Owens said he found "incredulous."

- Trebor Banstetter

FAA: LGA flight cap would cut delays

Cutting the number of hourly flights at LaGuardia Airport in New York could help on-time performance at the congested airport, FAA officials said Monday. Here's what Bloomberg reported on the issue:

Capping flights at New York's LaGuardia airport at four fewer per hour would improve the facility's worst on-time arrival rate among U.S. airports, the U.S. Transportation Department's general counsel said.

The voluntary reduction in flights from April to October could reduce LaGuardia delays by as much as 41 percent, D.J. Gribbin, the counsel, said today on a conference call with reporters.

The Federal Aviation Administration is following through with a plan announced in October to lower the maximum number of hourly flights at LaGuardia to 71 from 75 in a bid to reduce delays at the New York area's three major airports.

“We've had strong support from at least one carrier to reduce operations into LaGuardia and interest from others,” Gribbin said, declining to name the airlines.

- Trebor Banstetter

Message from the sky at FAA groundbreaking

Apparently this banner, asking for a new controller contract, was being flown across the sky in Warrenton, Va., Thursday over the groundbreaking ceremony at the Federal Aviation Administration's new command center, which will open in 2011.

- Trebor Banstetter

Sturgell: ASAP lapse at American 'disheartening'

In a speech today at the Aero Club in Washington, D.C., FAA acting administrator Robert Sturgell noted the recent cancellation of the ASAP safety program at American Airlines. That's the voluntary disclosure program that was developed by the airline, the Allied Pilots Association and the FAA, which had served as a model for the industry. It expired recently because American and the union couldn't agree on renewal terms.

He never mentioned American specifically, but it's pretty clear Sturgell was talking about the Fort Worth-based airline here:

"... we have fought long and hard for voluntary disclosure programs like ASAP. They are critical for us to continue to raise the level of safety. It’s disheartening to see some of our carriers and pilot unions abandoning these programs at a time when we need them the most. You must separate safety from the labor issues and put these programs back in place. The data we gather from them is critical."

- Trebor Banstetter

FAA: "No formal investigation" on AA lightning policy

I just spoke with FAA spokesman Les Dorr about the situation with lightning inspections at American Airlines, and he seemed to downplay the issue.

"The really isn't much there," he said. FAA officials do plan to sit down with American officials to review the inspection policy, but he insisted that "there's no formal investigation." He added that today's Wall Street Journal article "was a little dramatic."

The issue stems from a change to American's policy for inspecting airplanes after lightning strikes, which was implemented in October 2007. The new policy mandates inspections only when pilots report that a plane had been struck. Previously, mechanics had discretion to pull airplanes out of service if they suspected a lightning strike, even if none was reported.

The FAA was aware of the policy change, and had discussed the wording of the new rules with American officials. "We addressed those issues last year," American spokesman Tim Wagner told me. He said the airline considered the matter settled.

The issue arose again recently after American mechanics based at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York raised concerns about the change, and two pilots also complained to the FAA, Dorr said.

"The bottom line is, we're going to meet with them, probably next week, and talk about the revised policy," he said. "And that's about it."

- Trebor Banstetter

WSJ: FAA failed to perform safety reviews

The Wall Street Journal is citing a letter from acting FAA administrator Robert Sturgell that indicates the agency did not perform several recommended safety reviews over the past several years. Safety reviews were overlooked at Southwest and American as well as other major carriers, according to the report.

- Trebor Banstetter

AA had hoped to avoid cancellations

Officials at American Airlines said several times last month that they had tried to negotiate an alternative method to comply with an FAA safety directive - one which wouldn't have required the airline to ground its fleet of MD-80 planes and cancel 3,300 flights.

On April 10, Gerard Arpey, American's CEO said that "we worked with Boeing and the FAA to seek an alternative means of compliance and we weren't successful."

Now, American apparently is making that same case in a report to the Department of Transportation. According to a story in today's Wall Street Journal, the report says that the airline had a "handshake" deal with local FAA officials for the alternative, but were overridden by higher-ups in Washington, D.C. That rejection of the alternative method of inspecting the planes meant the entire fleet had to be grounded.

- Trebor Banstetter

D/FW traffic down in April, March

Not surprisingly, the last month's mass cancellations of American Airlines flights had a big impact on passenger traffic at D/FW Airport, which is American's largest hub. American canceled more than 3,000 flights nationwide after the FAA grounded its fleet of MD-80 jets for inspections.

Officials with the airport said this morning that 4.4 million travelers went through D/FW in April, down 12 percent from April 2007. It was also down more than 6 percent from the amount they had expected.

March traffic was also down nearly 8 percent compared to March 2007. The chief culprit there was bad weather, which also resulted in hundreds of cancellations, and the first round of MD-80 groundings at the end of the month.

The airport's revenues were about $1.1 million lower than expected, thanks in large part to the reduction in landing fees and other issues connected to the cancellations.

- Trebor Banstetter

FAA removes D/FW personnel

The FAA just issued a news release with its response to an inspector general's report on the misclassification of operational errors at D/FW Airport. This is the case that began with allegations from whistleblower Anne Whiteman, an air traffic controller, who said that D/FW-based controllers weren't reporting serious errors, including near-misses by airplanes.

Here's an excerpt from the release:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced steps to strengthen the reporting system designed to classify airspace errors, in response to a report by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Inspector General (IG) that revealed the intentional misclassification of operational errors at the Dallas-Fort Worth Terminal Approach Control (TRACON).

In direct response to IG recommendations contained in a report issued today, the FAA removed both the facility manager and assistant manager at the Dallas-Fort Worth TRACON from their positions pending a final determination on possible further personnel actions; additional personnel actions may be taken. The Air Traffic Safety Oversight organization has implemented unannounced on-site audits at the TRACON, requiring monthly reports to the FAA’s acting administrator. Additionally, the FAA will accelerate deployment of the Traffic Analysis Review Program (TARP) — software that automatically detects losses of aircraft separation at terminal facilities — at Dallas-Fort Worth TRACON. The program will be implemented by the end of fiscal year 2008.

“I am deeply disturbed by the findings in this report,” said Hank Krakowski, chief operating officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization. “I am personally committed to making sure the IG’s recommendations are implemented and that managers are held accountable.”

Specifically, the IG found that management at the Dallas-Fort Worth TRACON investigated operational errors and deviations, but routinely and intentionally misclassified them as pilot errors or non-events. The report was prompted by whistleblower allegations that management was covering up operational errors and deviations. It found that between November 2005 and July 2007, TRACON managers misclassified 62 air traffic events as pilot deviation or non-events when it fact there were 52 operational errors and 10 operational deviations. The IG found no evidence of misclassification issues beyond the Dallas-Fort Worth TRACON.

- Trebor Banstetter

FAA chief apologizes for AA cancellations

Dow Jones moved this story this afternoon:

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Federal Aviation Administration's acting chief apologized Thursday for oversight gaps that resulted in American Airlines canceling thousands of flights last week.

But under questioning from Senate appropriators, he cautioned that the FAA must not become too involved in every aspect of inspecting aircraft, and argued that a "partnership" approach with the airlines must be maintained.

"If we return to the 'gotcha' approach of decades past ... I think we risk driving these safety issues underground," FAA acting Administrator Robert Sturgell told a Senate panel.

- Trebor Banstetter