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American Airline landing issues
The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday said it is stepping up oversight of American Airlines in the wake of three botched landings by the carrier over an 11-day period. (online.wsj.com) المزيد...
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Would be nice if I could read the whole article without having to pay for a WSJ subscription...
I couldn't see the entire article either, but avweb has a blurb on the front page that I think gets the same point across. Either way, I think we'll be seeing some sort of review document from the FAA in the future.
Sorry on the subscription to the WSJ. I have it in my cookies and completely forgot.
Who would post a link to a story where you have to subscribe to read the story. Probably someone who works for the WSJ. Geez
By ANDY PASZTOR
The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday said it is stepping up oversight of American Airlines in the wake of three botched landings by the carrier over an 11-day period.
The latest incident, which prompted heightened FAA scrutiny of American's operations, involved a jetliner whose wingtip struck the ground while landing in Austin, Texas, on Christmas Eve. There were no injuries and the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft was inspected and returned to service. But the incident raised concern inside the FAA, according to people familiar with the matter, because it followed two more-serious landing mistakes on aircraft operated by the AMR Corp. unit in December.
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Associated Press
American suffered three landing mishaps in less than two weeks, including a Dec. 22 flight that careened off a runway in Kingston, Jamaica.
Based on past responses, the FAA could look through records and assess American's efforts to retrain pilots who do poorly on evaluation rides. It may increase the number of inspectors placed inside American cockpits. The FAA can open an enforcement action if it finds systemic weaknesses. In extreme cases, the agency also can impose financial penalties, it said.
On Dec. 13, an American MD-82 ended up with a damaged wingtip after part of its main landing gear veered off the runway while touching down in low visibility in Charlotte, N.C. In Kingston, Jamaica, on Dec. 22 another American Boeing 737 careened off the end of a runway while landing on the island amid heavy rain. The jet's fuselage broke into three sections and its crumpled nose slid to a halt barely feet from the shoreline. Several people were hospitalized, but there were no fatalities.
The three events prompted FAA officials to start analyzing Fort Worth, Texas-based American's data on landing incidents as well as voluntary pilot reports about such past occurrences. Agency officials are expected to focus on assessing certain aspects of the carrier's pilot-training programs, and how American's safety managers have responded to the spate of landing slip ups, the people familiar said.
"Where there may be several incidents involving a single carrier over a short period of time, FAA inspectors increase their oversight, which we're doing now, and conduct a review of those events to determine whether they might be indicative of a larger issue," the FAA spokesman said in a statement.
If that is the conclusion, according to the agency's statement, "the FAA communicates its findings to the air carrier and assists in the development of the appropriate corrective action."
The review comes as new details emerged about the Jamaica crash. The wheels of the jet first touched the runway some 4,000 feet down the nearly 9,000-foot long airstrip, according to one person familiar with the matter. Water on the runway could have made it difficult to stop, this person said.
Since the accident occurred during the Christmas holiday season, investigators are expected to look into the total weight of checked baggage and carry-on bags. They already weighed many of the suitcases and bags.
An American spokesman said the carrier is conducting internal investigations of both incidents in which wingtips scraped on the ground. Asked if American sees a trend, spokesman Tim Wagner said Thursday: "We take each event as an individual event."
Still, Mr. Wagner said, "We want a perfect landing every time."
It isn't clear whether the stepped-up oversight will result in high-level meetings between the carrier and the agency. American already is on the defensive from various FAA enforcement actions and special reviews primarily targeting compliance lapses with maintenance directives. But the latest FAA scrutiny, according to people familiar with the issue, is bound to delve more deeply into operational issues such as pilot decisions and landing procedures in stormy weather. Mechanical problems don't appear to have been major factors in any of the three recent incidents.
Mike Esterl contributed to this article
The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday said it is stepping up oversight of American Airlines in the wake of three botched landings by the carrier over an 11-day period.
The latest incident, which prompted heightened FAA scrutiny of American's operations, involved a jetliner whose wingtip struck the ground while landing in Austin, Texas, on Christmas Eve. There were no injuries and the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft was inspected and returned to service. But the incident raised concern inside the FAA, according to people familiar with the matter, because it followed two more-serious landing mistakes on aircraft operated by the AMR Corp. unit in December.
View Full Image
Associated Press
American suffered three landing mishaps in less than two weeks, including a Dec. 22 flight that careened off a runway in Kingston, Jamaica.
Based on past responses, the FAA could look through records and assess American's efforts to retrain pilots who do poorly on evaluation rides. It may increase the number of inspectors placed inside American cockpits. The FAA can open an enforcement action if it finds systemic weaknesses. In extreme cases, the agency also can impose financial penalties, it said.
On Dec. 13, an American MD-82 ended up with a damaged wingtip after part of its main landing gear veered off the runway while touching down in low visibility in Charlotte, N.C. In Kingston, Jamaica, on Dec. 22 another American Boeing 737 careened off the end of a runway while landing on the island amid heavy rain. The jet's fuselage broke into three sections and its crumpled nose slid to a halt barely feet from the shoreline. Several people were hospitalized, but there were no fatalities.
The three events prompted FAA officials to start analyzing Fort Worth, Texas-based American's data on landing incidents as well as voluntary pilot reports about such past occurrences. Agency officials are expected to focus on assessing certain aspects of the carrier's pilot-training programs, and how American's safety managers have responded to the spate of landing slip ups, the people familiar said.
"Where there may be several incidents involving a single carrier over a short period of time, FAA inspectors increase their oversight, which we're doing now, and conduct a review of those events to determine whether they might be indicative of a larger issue," the FAA spokesman said in a statement.
If that is the conclusion, according to the agency's statement, "the FAA communicates its findings to the air carrier and assists in the development of the appropriate corrective action."
The review comes as new details emerged about the Jamaica crash. The wheels of the jet first touched the runway some 4,000 feet down the nearly 9,000-foot long airstrip, according to one person familiar with the matter. Water on the runway could have made it difficult to stop, this person said.
Since the accident occurred during the Christmas holiday season, investigators are expected to look into the total weight of checked baggage and carry-on bags. They already weighed many of the suitcases and bags.
An American spokesman said the carrier is conducting internal investigations of both incidents in which wingtips scraped on the ground. Asked if American sees a trend, spokesman Tim Wagner said Thursday: "We take each event as an individual event."
Still, Mr. Wagner said, "We want a perfect landing every time."
It isn't clear whether the stepped-up oversight will result in high-level meetings between the carrier and the agency. American already is on the defensive from various FAA enforcement actions and special reviews primarily targeting compliance lapses with maintenance directives. But the latest FAA scrutiny, according to people familiar with the issue, is bound to delve more deeply into operational issues such as pilot decisions and landing procedures in stormy weather. Mechanical problems don't appear to have been major factors in any of the three recent incidents.
Mike Esterl contributed to this article
Thanks!
