FAA Proposes a $1.1 Million Fine Against United Airlines for Skipping Safety Checks
by Daniel McCarthy
Photo: Benson Truong / Shutterstock.com
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a $1.15 million fine against United Airlines for allegedly skipping safety steps on some of its flights.
According to the FAA, United had conducted flights from June 2018 to April 2021 on Boeing 777 aircraft that “were not in airworthy condition.” The issue, according to the FAA, is that United allegedly removed the Fire Warning Check from its Boeing 777 Preflight Checklist, a step that is required in the airplane’s manual.
“Removal of the check resulted in United’s failure to perform the required check and the operation of aircraft that did not meet airworthiness requirements,” the FAA said on Monday.
United has said, according to reports, that it changed its preflight checklist in 2018 in order to account for “redundant built-in checks performed automatically by the 777,” it said in a letter to the FAA. United said it was told by the FAA in 2021 that those checks needed to be performed by pilots and immediately changed its preflight safety checks to meet those standards.
United now has 30 days to respond to the FAA.
