The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes a $500,000 civil penalty against SeaPort Airlines of Portland, for allegedly operating three single-engine Cessna Caravans when they were not airworthy.
The FAA alleges SeaPort failed to perform initial and recurring borescope inspections of the planes’ turbine compressor blades. The inspections are required by an Airworthiness Directive that is intended to prevent compressor turbine blade failures, which could cause an engine to lose power.
“Airworthiness Directives are critical safety tools,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “Safe operations depend on meticulous compliance with their requirements.”
The FAA alleges the company operated the three aircraft on a total of 583 flights when the inspections were overdue. The agency alleges the aircraft therefore were not airworthy.
Additionally, the FAA alleges SeaPort failed to record the method of compliance with the Airworthiness Directive and when the next recurring inspections were required for those three aircraft as well as another Cessna Caravan.
When asked to comment about this matter, SeaPort Airline’s President Mr. Timothy Sieber said:
“The events in question occurred in 2014. As soon as SeaPort Airlines became aware of the events, the airline reported it to the FAA and terminated the employment of the involved individual”.
SeaPort has 30 days from receiving the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the agency.