US cargo carrier Emery Worldwide Airlines has been forced to ground its fleet of 37 freighters after the US Federal Aviation Administration uncovered more than 100 aircraft maintenance violations. The FAA says the action was taken because of the company's "inability and unwillingness to take action".
The move is set to keep Emery's fleet of 29 McDonnell Douglas DC-8s and eight DC-10 cargo aircraft out of service for more than 30 days, but the Redwood City, California-based, cargo carrier says "there will be no interruption to service" through subcontracts to Ryan Aviation and other cargo airlines. Emery says it will furlough up to 800 pilots, crew and administrative staff among its 1,100 workforce.
FAA action follows a 20-month probe of the carrier's maintenance operations, which found improper repairs, installations and alterations, poor record-keeping and outdated maintenance manuals.
Between February and April, a DC-10 with a faulty cabin pressurisation system stayed in service despite 17 pilot reports. The fatal crash of a DC-8-71CF on 16 February last year in California may have been caused by a faulty elevator. A DC-8 also crash-landed at Nashville International when the left landing gear would not deploy because the wrong hydraulic valve had been installed.
Source: Flight International
