Southwest has no plans to meet FAA fine deadline

[swa737-700]

I am getting really tired of the aimless, uneducated, and jealousy driven rantings of tankera$$. Will someone please explain how to put it on "ignore"? Thanks in advance.

 

[Jim Smyth]

Funny too, that the biggest fine goes to a carrier that can actually pay it.

Not to mention the airline with one of the best safety records in existence too!

 

[Bringupthebird]

Not to mention the airline with one of the best safety records in existence too!

That's open to debate! I think SWA is going to find itself on the losing end of this one in a big way. Regardless of whether or not they self disclose, they were willing accomplices in willfully violating FARs. There was absolutely no reason for them to do what they did other than they felt they could get away with it. Whether their buddies inside the FAA told them they could or not, they knew the regs and are bound by them. We are a country of laws, not men.

 

[B727Driver]

Read about the guy who beat the IRS. Now, that took some cojones.

 

[Raoul Duke]

Judging from the posts I am guessing that none of you have ever been involved with the FAA's Civil Penalty process. Cases are compromised all the time. In a case like this (above $1M) it is handled by a US Attorney (under a mil is an FAA attorney). Justice Dept attorneys have heavy caseloads and have to also deal with a criminal docket that cannot be placed on hold. The US Attorney is at an immediate disadvantage becasue they are not familiar with airline maintenance or operations. On the other hand on a case like this airlines pull out all the stops and hire very experienced regulatory attorneys with strong contacts in DC and better experts. In this case just from reading about the proceedings in congress WN will be able to prove that they self disclosed and that the disclosure was accepted by their PMI. The FAA can't go back and say "well you should not have asked for a self disclosure. . . and we should not have given it to you". The FAA is trying to go back after the fact and grab attention with a big proposed civil penalty. While the $$$ sought in this case are high these cases settle all the time typically at 10-30% of the proposed civil penalty. Other cases get tossed entirely.

 

[Bringupthebird]

Acceptance by a PMI means nothing. The regs stand regardless of who chooses to enforce them or not. SWA's failure to abide by an FAA order gives the FAA much more leverage to suspend their certificate. Paying and then appealing is the way it's done. Anything else is playing roulotte with their certificate.

 

[spitfire1500]

Way to go Southwest!! Maybe the FAA should pay all the airlines for the ATC screw up the other day or all the times they make a mistake...

 

[Raoul Duke]

Acceptance by a PMI means nothing. The regs stand regardless of who chooses to enforce them or not. SWA's failure to abide by an FAA order gives the FAA much more leverage to suspend their certificate. Paying and then appealing is the way it's done. Anything else is playing roulotte with their certificate.

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There is no option to pay and then appeal. If you pay, it is the same as admitting guilt. You either settle at the informal stage or you request a trial. Keep in mind that the FAA has to prove its case and can't use any of the tainted witnesses to do so - those that accepted the extensions. Also given the complexity of the maintenance programs of a carrier like WN (Manufacturer's Program, Carrier's Program, Special Programs etc) they will be able to muddy the water to the point where the fines seem disproportionate. I will put money that this case ends with WN paying less than 10% of the original penalty to the FAA with an additional 40% paid towards improving their MX reporting and tracking system.

 

[~~~^~~~]

Southwest's best strategy is to go to court. The FAA came out looking much worse than SWA in this. SWA self disclosed and it was accepted by the FAA - even thought the disclosure should not have been accepted. The longer SWA drags it out and the more publicly they do it the worse off the FAA looks. They will accept a much lower settlement to get this to go away.

Yeah, you really got them over a barrell

 

[habitual pilot]

Its about time the airlines start fighting back with some of the ridiculous and out of control regs being forced down their throats. The FAA is killing the airlines with rules and the govt is taxing their tickets to death.

Congrats to SWA and good luck. Finally, an airline with balls.

We need another step in this system where the airlines can fine the FAA for their missteps and recoup some of their $$.

How much did this cost the airlines?

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINN2643252620080827?rpc=44