United Airlines said late Friday that US safety regulators will boost scrutiny of the airline after a series of recent safety incidents.
United’s corporate safety vp, Sasha Johnson, said in a memo that over the subsequent several weeks employees will see more of a presence by the Federal Aviation Administration “in our operation as they start to review a few of our work processes, manuals and facilities.”
The Chicago-based airline has experienced several emergencies prior to now two weeks. On March 15, an external panel was found to be missing from a United aircraft when it landed in Oregon, prompting an FAA investigation.
United Boeing 777 is forced to land after fuel leak during takeoff earlier this month. Recent York Aviation
Before that incident, a United Airlines-operated Boeing 737 MAX rolled onto the grass in Houston. A United-operated Boeing 777-200 certain for Japan also lost a tire after takeoff from San Francisco and was diverted to Los Angeles, where it landed safely.
The incidents “have rightfully caused us to pause and evaluate whether there may be anything we are able to and will do otherwise,” Johnson’s memo said adding “We welcome their engagement and are very open to listen to from them about what they find and their perspective on things we may have to vary to make us even safer.”
On Tuesday, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told Reuters the agency was going to have a look at United more closely, saying United CEO Scott Kirby “knows we’re going to be engaging somewhat more closely with them as we glance into these.”
The FAA said United CEO Scott Kirby “knows we’re going to be engaging somewhat more closely with them as we glance into these.” AFP via Getty Images
Asked for comment on United’s memo, the FAA said on Friday it “routinely monitors all points of an airline’s operation” including “compliance with applicable regulations; ability to discover hazards, assess and mitigate risk; and effectively manage safety.”
Scrutiny on planemaker Boeing has also mounted since a Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines mid-air emergency, with inquiries into safety and quality standards in its production process.
Scrutiny on planemaker Boeing has also mounted since a Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines mid-air emergency via REUTERS
Asked about additional attention many aviation incidents are drawing, Whitaker said some events getting coverage aren’t necessarily unusual however the FAA investigates to make sure there is no such thing as a broader safety trend.
Whitaker said it is necessary “to attempt to separate the signal from the noise…. The system works well since it has lots of redundancy built into it, lots of resilience.”
