SkyWest Airlines fined $359,000 for alleged violations of FAA regulations

by B. N. Sullivan

Today, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced proposed civil penalties (i.e, fines) against SkyWest Airlines, Inc. The FAA proposed fines totaling $359,000 for three separate alleged violations of Federal Aviation Regulations.

The FAA press release explains:

The FAA proposed a penalty of $220,000 for alleged failure to document heavy checked bags, motorized mobility aids and a heavy shipment carried in the cargo compartment of the company’s passenger aircraft.  As a result, the company operated the aircraft on five flights between April 21 and May 25, 2010 with incorrect weight and balance data.  The FAA alleges the violations occurred because the carrier’s employees failed to follow required procedures for documenting cargo carried on revenue passenger flights.

The other two proposed civil penalties are for allegedly operating two Bombardier Regional Jet aircraft when they were not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations.

In the first case, a proposed civil penalty of $70,500, the FAA alleges SkyWest employees failed to follow the company’s Continuous Airworthiness Maintenance Program (CAMP) and the Bombardier maintenance and inspection manual during five attempts by mechanics to correct an avionics system cooling problem on one aircraft.  SkyWest operated the aircraft on at least five revenue passenger flights between July 15 and 21, 2009 when it was not in compliance.

In the second case, the FAA is proposing a civil penalty of $68,500, alleging SkyWest operated another Bombardier jet on eight revenue passenger flights between May 30 and June 1, 2010 when it was not in compliance with regulations.  The FAA alleges SkyWest mechanics failed to follow procedures required in the airline’s CAMP when replacing the right air conditioning pack’s pressure-regulating and shutoff valve.

SkyWest, which is headquartered in St. George, Utah, has 30 days to respond to the FAA.

SkyWest moves to acquire ExpressJet and merge it with ASA

by B. N. Sullivan

SkyWest Inc. and Express Jet Holdings, Inc. announced today that they had signed "a definitive merger agreement" whereby SkyWest will acquire ExpressJet and merge it with SkyWest subsidiary Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA). The parties hope to close the deal by the end of this year, subject to regulatory approval.

In a press release about the merger deal, George Bravante, Chairman of the ExpressJet Board, said that "the combined airline will be able to provide a stable, platform for growth for ExpressJet employees after this transaction closes."

More from the ExpressJet press release:

It is anticipated that the combined airline will maintain significant operational presence in each of the hubs ExpressJet currently serves, including Continental's current hubs in Houston, Newark/New York and Cleveland, as well as hubs in Chicago O'Hare and Washington Dulles for United Airlines. In addition, it is expected that the vast majority of front-line employee positions will not be impacted by the acquisition.

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents ExpressJet's 2,700 pilots, immediately issued a statement about the merger plans. Capt. Chris Cashmareck, chairman of the ExpressJet pilots’ unit of ALPA, said, "Every transaction presents opportunities and risks. We need to review and evaluate the plan for the combined airline before we can commit to taking a position to support or oppose the sale/merger. What I can state unequivocally is that, just as airline mergers over the past few years have shown us, it will take pilot involvement and support to realize any true measure of success for this or any transaction."

The pilots union for ExpressJet sent a letter to ExpressJet Holdings management stating the fundamental requirements for support of a sale/merger. Among them are the following:

• the transaction must result in a profitable airline that provides long term stability and progressive career potential for our pilots;
• the transaction must fully honor the scope and successorship provision of our collective bargaining agreement;
• management must commit to negotiating a joint collective bargaining agreement with all involved parties that benefits all pilots; and
• there must be a fair and equitable seniority list integration.

It should be noted that once this merger is realized, SkyWest Inc., the parent of both SkyWest Airlines and ASA, will be the world's largest regional airline company, with a combined fleet of aircraft numbering nearly 700.

SkyWest, Inc. also may be interested in further expansion. According to a Bloomberg article, SkyWest "would consider purchasing Comair from Delta Air Lines Inc. and said U.S. commuter carriers may benefit from further consolidation."

NTSB investigating runway incursion at Fresno, CA

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the circumstances surrounding a runway incursion incident yesterday, Aug. 28, 2008, at Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT). The incident involved a SkyWest regional jet, which nearly collided with a smaller aircraft that had failed to vacate a runway on which the SkyWest flight was landing. No one was injured.

SkyWest Airlines Flight SKW69R, a Canadair CRJ-200 aircraft, was arriving on a scheduled flight from Salt Lake City when the incident occurred. According to information provided by the NTSB, at approximately 21:07 local time a Piper PA-46 landed at Fresno on runway 29R. Before the aircraft had exited the runway, the tower controller cleared the SkyWest CRJ to land on the same runway. The SkyWest crew saw the Piper and veered to the right side of the runway, missing the other aircraft by an estimated 15 feet, wingtip to wingtip.

The NTSB notes that the incident occurred at night with 10 miles visibility.

Cracked windshields at DIA caused by very fine FOD?

Remember the mysterious event last month when the windshields of more than a dozen aircraft cracked on the same stormy day in Denver? At the time, airport officials said that the cause was "baffling." Now an article in the Denver Post says that 'fine particles' cracked those windshields.

The damaged aircraft belonged to SkyWest, Frontier, and Great Lakes airlines. Six of the planes developed cracks in their windshields during takeoff. One windshield cracked after landing, and two more happened during taxi. Three parked aircraft sustained windshield cracks as well, and one windshield cracked during pushback. One aircraft developed the problem in flight, at 19,000 feet.

It was cold, snowy, and very windy that day. Winds were gusting up to 48mph during the three-hour period when the windshields cracked. NTSB investigator Jennifer Kaiser said that "The only commonality across aircraft type, operator, location, time and phase of flight was the wind and weather."

The Denver Post says:

Cracked windshields on 14 planes at Denver International Airport were caused by "foreign object debris," air safety investigators said Tuesday.

Microscopic analysis of the 21 front and side windshields cracked during a storm revealed fine particles causing pitting that in turn caused cracking, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Jennifer Kaiser said. Only the outer layer of the triple-layer windshields cracked and none of the planes declared emergencies.

Flying sand? Ice pellets? We still don't know. The exact nature of the debris was unable to be determined by investigators.

Cracked windshields at DIA: How cold was it??

About a dozen aircraft at or near Denver International Airport (DIA) have sustained cracked windshields, presumably from the intense cold.

One  article about the cold weather in Denver, published on CBS News and elsewhere, says that SkyWest Airlines reported cracked windshields on eight planes that were taking off or landing yesterday as wind gusted up to 50 mph. One plane's windshield cracked while it was airborne.

Frontier Airlines also reported cracked windshields on several of its planes. An airline spokesman said that two windshields cracked in flight, and two more cracked on aircraft that were parked at DIA gates.

So how cold was Denver yesterday? It was mostly in the 30s (Fahrenheit), but there were strong winds. In fact, a Denver Post article about yesterday's weather said that "extremely high winds" had been recorded in the area by the National Weather Service:

The foothills and plains can expect winds between 80 and 100 mph for the rest of the day. Denver will experience gusts between 50 and 65 mph today.

The high winds are affecting the areas north of Denver and east of the mountains, all the way to Wyoming and out to Nebraska and Kansas.

The Denver Post article quoted Mike Baker of the National Weather Service, who explained that a jet stream at an altitude of about 30,000 ft had moved directly over Denver, with winds out of the northwest at around 185 mph. A high-pressure system had developed west of the mountains and a low pressure system had developed east of the mountains, causing the air to flow from high to low, like water, creating strong winds near the surface.

Wind-chill aside, DIA officials say they are "baffled" by all those cracked windshields.

LAX runway incursion: Close call!

Imagine this: You're in a regional jet cleared for takeoff from LAX, but about the time your aircraft reaches a speed of 100 knots you see a Gulfstream taxiing across the runway in front of you.

That's what happened last week to a crew operating a SkyWest jet bound for San Antonio. Fortunately, the pilots were able to abort takeoff, coming to a stop less than 100 ft from the business jet!

Here is an account of this near-collision from the Aero-News Network:

The near-accident occurred around 6:00 pm, when the UK-registered Gulfstream taxied from a hangar on the south side of the field and was given instructions to cross the outer runway but hold short of the inner runway, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The pilot read back the instructions, but missed his assigned taxiway... and had to make a U-turn to get back to it. After repeating his initial instructions, the Gulfstream pilot took the correct taxiway, but did not stop short of the inner runway as instructed. As the Gulfstream crossed the active runway, the departing Skywest aircraft, carrying 39 passengers and crew, had to slam on its brakes to avoid the collision.

The Gulfstream pilot told officials he was certain the controller had cleared him to cross both runways, even though he twice read back the "hold short" instructions correctly, Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman, told the Times.

FAA officials said the SkyWest pilot, the tower controller and the ground radar that alerts controllers to impending collisions all noticed -- at the same time -- the Gulfstream crossing the runway.

"We had three layers of redundancy," continued Gregor, "This is just a clear and clean pilot mistake."

According to tapes released to the LA Times, the shaken controller called out, "SkyWest 6430, I apologize. We never talked to the Gulfstream. He crossed without a clearance. I apologize. If you could make a right turn, please, and exit the runway."
The SkyWest pilot is heard responding, "Exiting right," exhaling heavily. The controller was so traumatized by the near-collision that she left her post seconds later.

The FAA says that controller workload and controller staffing had nothing to do with this incident.

Source: Gulfstream, RJ Involved In LAX Runway Incursion Incident - Aero-News.net

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