American Airlines’ pilots union says there was a “significant increase” in safety problems on the airline, including fewer routine aircraft inspections and shorter test flights of planes coming back from major maintenance.
The union also says it has experienced incidents of tools being left in wheel wells and items left within the sterile area around aircraft parked at airport gates.
A spokesman said Monday that union representatives had raised their concerns with senior managers on the airline and were encouraged by the corporate’s response.
American, based in Fort Worth, Texas, says it has an industry-leading safety management system. An airline spokesman said American is in regular contact with regulators and unions “to further strengthen our strong safety record and improve our ever-evolving safety culture.”
Dennis Tajer, a pilot and union spokesman, said the union recently spoke with management “and management’s initial response to our request was encouraging.” We intend to do every thing in our power to make sure that American maintains high safety margins.”
The Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment directly on the union’s allegations or whether it has increased the agency’s oversight of American. In a press release, an FAA spokesman said airlines should have systems in place to detect potential hazards before they grow to be serious problems.
The Allied Pilots Association’s safety committee said in an email to members Saturday that the union “has observed a significant increase in safety and maintenance-related issues in our operation.”
The union said American has increased the time between routine inspections on planes. It also said American has stopped nightly maintenance checks unless an aircraft is said for special attention or is due for scheduled maintenance, and is now conducting “abbreviated” test flights with planes returning to service after major maintenance checks or prolonged storage be provided.
The union encouraged its members to report any safety or maintenance issues.
“We all understand that aviation accidents are the result of a chain of events – often a series of errors – and that discovering just one of these errors could prevent a tragedy,” the union said in the e-mail.
