The American Airlines pilots union says the airline has seen a “significant uptick” in safety problems, including a reduction in routine aircraft inspections and a reduction in test flights on planes returning from major maintenance work.
The union also says it has seen incidents where tools were left in wheel wells and items were left in the sterile area around aircraft parked at airport gates.
A spokesman said Monday that union representatives had expressed their concerns to senior airline managers and were encouraged by the company’s response.
American, based in Fort Worth, Texas, said it has an industry-leading safety management system. An airline spokesman said American maintains regular contact with regulators and unions “to further strengthen our strong safety record and strengthen our evolving safety culture.”
Dennis Thayer, a pilot and union representative, said the union recently spoke with senior management “and management’s initial response to our request was encouraging. We fully intend to do everything possible to ensure that Americans maintain a high level of safety.”
The Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment directly on the union’s allegations or whether the agency has increased oversight of Americans as a result. In a statement, an FAA spokesman said airlines need to have systems in place to identify potential hazards before they become serious problems.
The Allied Pilots Association’s safety committee said in an email to members Saturday that the union is “tracking a significant uptick in safety and maintenance issues in our operations.”
The union said that the Americans have increased the time between scheduled inspections of aircraft. It also said American has stopped overnight maintenance checks unless the aircraft requires special attention or is due for scheduled maintenance, and is now conducting “reduced” test flights on aircraft returning to service after major maintenance checks or long-term storage. .
The union asked its members to report any safety or maintenance problems.
“We all understand that aviation accidents are the result of a chain of events—often a series of errors—and identifying just one of these errors can prevent a tragedy,” the union said in an email.