From today's WSJ:
Remainder of story at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1210215929...=googlenews_wsj
Looks like this turned out completely different from the MD-80 fiasco.
American Rushes to Complete Repairs
By ANDY PASZTOR
May 8, 2008; Page B4
AMR Corp.'s American Airlines is scrambling to finish wiring repairs on a group of jetliners once again, but this time there are no arguments with federal regulators and the carrier isn't taking planes out of service to complete the work.
The fixes, affecting more than three dozen Airbus A300 aircraft, highlight the often-subjective nature of compromises struck between airlines and regulators over the details of safety-compliance issues. The latest moves also indicate American officials and Federal Aviation Administration managers are seeking to ratchet down rhetoric sparked by their recent high-profile disputes over maintenance directives. Both sides are reverting to traditional cooperative arrangements to comply with safety mandates while keeping planes in operation whenever possible.
In the past week or so, special teams of American mechanics have performed maintenance on the company's A300 widebody jets to comply with a safety directive intended to prevent wire damage and potential electrical shorts in front portions of the wings and engine mounts. The original FAA mandate, dating to 2002, called for repetitive inspections and repairs to guard against loss of electrical power or other functions.
The A300 work comes in the wake of last month's turmoil sparked by overdue wiring fixes that temporarily grounded Fort Worth, Texas-based American's fleet of about 300 smaller MD-80 aircraft and ended up disrupting travel plans for some 300,000 passengers.
This time, FAA managers approved an alternate compliance timetable for A300s, under which the airline can keep flying all those planes while it gradually fixes them. The work is being done overnight at American's hub at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Remainder of story at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1210215929...=googlenews_wsj
Looks like this turned out completely different from the MD-80 fiasco.