FAA fines

FAA fines flyers for punching, biting, & being truly unruly

A lot of airline passengers have been misbehaving. Madly.

Since January 1, 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has received approximately 3,889 reports of unruly behavior by passengers. That includes about 2,867 reports of passengers refusing to comply with the federal facemask mandate. (The mask mandate that was just extended until January).

The FAA can fine passengers for this behavior and the agency is doing just that.

This week the FAA proposed $531,545 in civil penalties against 34 airline passengers for alleged unruly behavior. That brings the total for 2021 to more than $1 million.

Most of the fines involve the refusal to comply with the mask mandate. But many passengers are also being fined for outrageous and often bizarre behavior.

Here are some examples of the most outrageous incidents from a list released by the FAA this week:

* $45,000 against a passenger flying on a May 24, 2021, JetBlue Airways flight from New York, N.Y., to Orlando, FL., for allegedly throwing objects, including his carry-on luggage, at other passengers; refusing to stay seated; lying on the floor in the aisle, refusing to get up, and then grabbing a flight attendant by the ankles and putting his head up her skirt. The passenger was placed in flexi-cuffs and the flight made an emergency landing in Richmond, VA.

*$42,000 against a passenger on a May 16, 2021, JetBlue Airways flight from Queens,  N.Y., to San Francisco, Calif., for allegedly interfering with crewmembers after failing to comply with the facemask mandate. This passenger was also cited for making non-consensual physical contact with another passenger, throwing a playing card at a passenger and threatening him with physical harm. The was more: the passenger was making stabbing gestures towards certain passengers and was snorting what appeared to be cocaine from a plastic bag, which the cabin crew confiscated. The passenger became increasingly agitated and the crew equipped themselves with flex cuffs and ice mallets to ensure the safety of the flight if his behavior worsened. The flight diverted to Minneapolis, Minn., where law enforcement removed the passenger from the aircraft.

*$32,500 against a passenger on a Jan. 2, 2021, Southwest Airlines flight from Orlando, Fla., to Kansas City, Mo., for allegedly assaulting passengers around him because someone in his row would not change seats to accommodate his travel partner.

The passenger told his travel partner he would need to bail him out of jail for the physically violent crimes he threatened to commit. The captain returned the flight to the gate, and law enforcement met the passenger. Southwest banned the passengers from flying with the carrier in the future.

*$30,000 against a passenger on a Jan. 3, 2021, Frontier Airlines flight from Atlanta, Ga., to New York, N.Y., for allegedly interfering with the flight attendants’ deplaning procedures upon arrival. This person tried to gain entry to the flight deck by physically assaulting two flight attendants, threatening to kill one of them, and demanding that they open the door. The captain called for law enforcement to meet him after exiting.

*$25,500 against a passenger on a March 11, 2021, Frontier Airlines flight from Orlando, Fla., to Providence, R.I., for allegedly repeatedly kicking the aircraft bulkhead; screaming obscenities at the passenger next to her; locking herself in the lavatory for 30 minutes; yelling obscenities at the flight attendant after they informed her through the lavatory door that the captain turned the fastened seatbelt sign on and she must return to her seat; throwing corn nuts at passengers and shoving both her middle fingers in the flight attendant’s face when they instructed her to stop throwing the nuts. The passenger was issued a “red card” notice, and in response, she again put both her middle fingers in the flight attendant’s face. Law enforcement removed her from the flight upon arrival.

 The list, and the fines, go on – and on – and are part of what the FAA has dubbed its Zero Tolerance campaign against unruly passenger behavior. The agency has requested that airports work more closely with local law enforcement to prosecute egregious cases and asked airports to do what they can to stop passengers from trying to bring their “to-go” cups of alcohol aboard aircraft.




“No warnings”: FAA getting tough with passengers who are unruly or won’t wear masks

Citing “a disturbing increase in incidents where airline passengers have disrupted flights with threatening or violent behavior,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Wednesday it will ratchet up its legal enforcement policies.

“These incidents have stemmed both from passengers’ refusals to wear masks and from recent violence at the U.S. Capitol, ” the FAA said in a statement.

The FAA says up to now it has been addressing unruly passenger incidents with warnings, counseling, and civil penalties. (Counseling?)

But effective immediately and through at least March 30, 2021, “the agency will pursue legal enforcement action against any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates, or interferes with airline crew members.”

That legal enforcement may include fines of up to $35,000 and imprisonment.

There have been some scary incidents onboard planes recently. Including on Friday, January 8, two days after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building, when an American Airlines pilot threatened to put the plane down “in the middle of Kansas” in response to chanting, unruly passengers.

More on FAA proposed fines for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air

Maybe it was a wing and a prayer…

Today the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a proposed civil penalty of $210,000 against Alaska Airlines for allegedly failing to properly document and tag deactivated systems and equipment before making repairs.

At the same time, the FAA announced a proposed $445,125 civil penalty against Alaska’s regional partner, Horizon Air, for allegedly operating a Bombardier Dash-8-400 aircraft on 45 flights when it was not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations.

Ouch!

Alaska and Horizon have 30 days to respond to the FAA’s enforcement letter and today Alaska Airlines spokesperson Bobbie Egan said the airlines are working with the FAA to respond to the proposed penalties. She also shared these details about the cited incidents.

Alaska Airlines:

According to the FAA, Alaska Airlines did not properly document when the approved alternate procedure was used for making the aircraft safe, for instance while replacing a landing light.

These procedures are used during ground maintenance and were performed 10 times on six airplanes. In these instances, Alaska performed the required maintenance work according to the aircraft manufacturer’s specifications; however, we did not properly document the alternate procedure. The maintenance was performed during ground operational checks and at no time were passengers or employees in danger.

Since receiving the letter of investigation, Alaska has implemented a number of changes to ensure compliance, including revising the maintenance manual, implementing a new training program for aircraft technicians and performing routine compliance audits.

Horizon Air

According to the FAA, Horizon did not properly document compliance with an Airworthiness Directive in March 2011 while inspecting an aircraft fitting on one of the engine coverings, which is called a nacelle. Horizon performed the required inspection, however, we did not properly document our maintenance due to a misunderstanding over wording on the work order. (The fitting was located on a spar that attaches to the nacelle.)

The aircraft was immediately removed from service the day after the inspection when we realized we had incorrectly documented the work. The aircraft was re-inspected and found to be in proper order. Horizon has improved its work order for this engine fitting inspection to prevent a misunderstanding in the future.

FAA regulations require inspection of the engine nacelle fittings every 300 flight hours. Horizon is replacing the fittings with an improved part that does not require recurring inspections.

I’m no mechanic, but I do fly a lot, so whether the fines are warranted or not, I ‘m glad to know attention is being paid to everyone’s safety.