U.S. Prosecutors Allege Safety Violations by American Airlines, Seek Penalties
NEW YORK (AP) -- American Airlines put its passengers at risk and violated multiple federal air-safety regulations in 2003 by allowing one of its jets to fly with a leaky fuel tank, according to a civil complaint filed by the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn.
The complaint alleges that on Nov. 17, 2003, a Federal Aviation Administration inspector was a passenger on an American flight from Orlando, Fla., to New York's La Guardia Airport when he saw fuel leaking from a wing of the McDonnell Douglas MD-82.
The inspector warned the flight crew about the leak and demanded it be recorded in the aircraft's maintenance log. However, "no such entry was made by the pilot or maintenance personnel," the complaint said.
American allowed the "unsafe and un-airworthy" jet to take 53 commercial flights over two weeks before it was repaired during a regularly scheduled maintenance check, the complaint said.
NEW YORK (AP) -- American Airlines put its passengers at risk and violated multiple federal air-safety regulations in 2003 by allowing one of its jets to fly with a leaky fuel tank, according to a civil complaint filed by the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn.
The complaint alleges that on Nov. 17, 2003, a Federal Aviation Administration inspector was a passenger on an American flight from Orlando, Fla., to New York's La Guardia Airport when he saw fuel leaking from a wing of the McDonnell Douglas MD-82.
The inspector warned the flight crew about the leak and demanded it be recorded in the aircraft's maintenance log. However, "no such entry was made by the pilot or maintenance personnel," the complaint said.
American allowed the "unsafe and un-airworthy" jet to take 53 commercial flights over two weeks before it was repaired during a regularly scheduled maintenance check, the complaint said.