The Federal Aviation Administration is to increase oversight of United Airlines to “ensure that it is complying with safety regulations; identifying hazards and mitigating risk; and effectively managing safety,"" a spokesperson from the FAA has revealed.
The FAA continued that although “although certification activities in process may be allowed to continue,” future projects may “be delayed based on findings from oversight”. The regulator will also be initiating an evaluation under the provision of the Certificate Holder Evaluation Process, a framework designed to evaluate Part-121 air carriers for regulatory compliance.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg also reported that authorities may also be considering additional measures such as limiting United from adding new routes and preventing it from flying passengers on newly delivered aircraft.
On March 8, a United Airlines 777-200 lost a tyre from its landing gear mid-flight shortly after taking off from San Francisco. Although nobody was injured in the incident, at least one empty vehicle was damaged when the tyre struck an employee car park. Additionally, on March 15, a post-flight inspection revealed that a 737-800 was found to have lost a panel on the underside of the aircraft. Although Flight 433 had flown from San Francisco and landed in Oregon without incident, the FAA confirmed it will be investigating how the panel became detached.
Following the two incidents, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby wrote to the airline’s Mileage Plus members; informing them that while the two instances were “unrelated” to each other, they nevertheless serve as “reminders of the importance of safety”. “These incidents have our attention and have sharpened our focus,” he added. The airline has yet to publicly comment on the recent FAA announcement.
FAA to increase oversight of United Airlines
