American Airlines accused of safety violation in civil complaint

Airline Industry Information, Sept 9, 2005

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A civil complaint filed by the US Attorney's office in Brooklyn claims that American Airlines endangered its passengers and violated air safety regulations in 2003.

According to the civil complaint, the airline put its passengers at risk and violated several federal air safety regulations as it allowed an aircraft to fly with a leaking tank. The complaint was made public yesterday (8 September) and it demands more than USD1m in penalties for American Airlines, The Associated Press reported.

Tim Wagner, a spokesman for the airline, said the aircraft in question had passed an inspection and that the safety of passengers was not at risk at any time.

The complaint, on the other hand, alleges that a Federal Aviation Administration inspector was aboard a flight operated by the airline on 17 November 2003, as a passenger, and apparently saw fuel leaking from a wing of the MD-82 aircraft, which was on its way from Orlando, Florida to New York's LaGuardia airport. It was also stated that the inspector notified the crew and demanded that the leak be recorded in the maintenance log. The complaint further states that no such entry was made and that the aircraft was repaired during regular maintenance after making an additional 53 commercial flights.

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