Southwest to Pay $7.5 Mil for Mx Lapses

FAA has settled its case against Southwest Airlines over maintenance concerns. The arrangement calls for a $7.5-million civil penalty — which could increase to $15 million if specific safety improvements are not met — that will be paid in three equal parts. The settlement addresses a proposed $10.2-million civil penalty from March 2008, when FAA alleged that Southwest was flying 46 aircraft on 59,791 flights without conducting mandatory inspections of fatigue cracking in the aircraft’s fuselages. Doubling of the fine will occur if Southwest fails to implement 13 requirements, including: raising the number of onsite technical reps for maintenance vendors from 27 to 35 personnel; allowing FAA inspectors access to maintenance tracking and engineering records; appointing a quality assurance manager that does not have certification responsibilities; rewriting all FAA-approved Southwest manuals; and reviewing its required inspection item (RII) procedures to ensure FAA compliance in regards to maintenance, engineering authorizations and task cards. The corrective actions have varying deadlines, with the longest (rewriting the maintenance manuals) lasting up to a year.
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