According to Continental Airlines, carriers serving New York’s three major airports should be temporarily exempt from new federal rules that fine airlines for tarmac delays.

In a Department of Transportation filing, Continental Airlines said delays from John F. Kennedy International Airport’s runway closure and construction impact all major airports in New York City.

Due to New York’s complex and interconnected airspace, Continental said “delays and delay mitigation strategies at one New York area airport adversely affect and inconvenience air carriers and passengers at another New York area airport.” Bad weather and conflicting runway approaches could cause “exponential increases” in the number of delays occurring at the other New York airports, said Continental.
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For the second time in a week, the Federal Aviation Administration has announced that it has proposed fining American Airlines for aircraft maintenance violations.

The FAA revealed Thursday that it sent a letter to American last week proposing a $300,000 civil penalty for the maintenance lapses, which could have endangered the aircraft, flight crew and passengers.

American Airlines maintenance workers, the FAA said, failed to properly document a malfunctioning speed indicator on an MD-82 jet in February 2009.

Not knowing about the defective indicator, crews flew the plane five times, including at night and in inclement winter weather. Such flights are allowed under American’s FAA-approved procedures, but only in daylight and clear weather.
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The Federal Aviation Administration has issued an emergency airworthiness directive demanding that airlines check a mechanism that controls tail flaps on about 600 Boeing 737s.

The directive was issued Friday and concerns flaps on the horizontal tails of the jets. On March 2, a Ryanair 737-800 en route from the Netherlands to Madrid, Spain, experienced severe vibrations in flight and had to make an unscheduled landing in Belgium.
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Federal regulators are proposing more maintenance-related penalties against American Airlines.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it would fine American $787,500 for three cases of alleged maintenance problems.

In one case, regulators say the airline operated a plane without replacing a central computer on the jet. The FAA says mechanics improperly put off the maintenance.
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U.S. airline passenger numbers will reach 1 billion in 2023, two years later than projected, because of slow economic growth, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The revision in the agency’s annual forecast follows an “unprecedented” drop in operations last year, when take-offs and landings fell 10.4 percent, said Nan Shellabarger, the agency’s director of aviation policy and plans.
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An American Airlines jet scraped a wingtip and partially veered off the runway while landing in poor visibility Sunday night at Charlotte, N.C., and federal air-safety regulators are looking into why it took the carrier four hours to notify them about the event.

While none of the crew or the 110 passengers aboard Flight 1402 was injured, the Federal Aviation Administration is treating the event as an accident. On Monday, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said American’s timing in notifying the agency “is part of the investigation.” (continue reading…)

Signaling a potentially tougher safety enforcement policy, federal aviation regulators proposed $9.2 million in civil penalties against US Airways and United Airlines for various maintenance lapses affecting more than 1,800 flights stretching back to early 2008.
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is allowing Southwest Airlines to fly with unapproved parts used to repair some of its jets, according to several published reports. FAA officials say that the parts, used by a maintenance company hired by Southwest, are not considered an “immediate safety threat,” the Huffington Post reported. (continue reading…)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating Southwest Airlines after a routine inspection found that the airline had installed unauthorized parts on 46 of its planes.

The Dallas-based carrier grounded those planes for several hours Saturday after the FAA’s inspection.

The unauthorized part, known as a hinge fitting, goes on the airplane’s wing, FAA spokesman Les Dorr said. (continue reading…)