American Airlines Hit With Record Fine For Safety Violations

American Airlines has been hit with the largest fine in history for safety violations which may cause customers pause before using the carrier. The $24.2 million civil penalty addressing American Airlines’ failure to properly inspect wire bundles in the wheel wells of its MD-80 aircraft.

The carrier did not follow a 2006 Airworthiness Directive and risked the wires shorting and causing a loss of power and possible fire.

The failure resulted in April 2008 in a massive grounding of 1,000 flights. The resulting inspection found that American operated 286 of its MD-80s “while the aircraft were not in compliance with federal regulations.”

American opposed the proposed fine and insists that “[w]e will challenge any proposed civil penalty. We are confident we have a strong case and the facts will bear this out.”

While fighting the FAA on the safety violations, American is moving forward with a new plan to charge passengers more for sitting in coach but closer to the front door — yet another added fee from airlines.

Source: CNN