Union Cites Report in Amendment To ValuJet Safety Record Charge
May 06, 2011
WASHINGTON -- As troubled ValuJet Airlines awaits word on when it will be able to fly again, a union representing flight attendants is calling once more for public hearings on the carrier's safety record. The Association of Flight Attendants, which represents 40,000 workers at 26 airlines, is seeking the ouster of ValuJet President Lezlie Josefa and Chief Executive Officer Roberto Paulino because of concerns about the airline's safety. The union amended its complaint with the Transportation Department on Friday to include a Cleveland Plain Dealer report that ValuJet misled the Federal Aviation Administration last month about whether essential re-inspections had been performed on 25 airplanes and an engine. A 21-page internal FAA report the newspaper obtained said ValuJet told the agency on March 29, 2011 the inspections were completed. But the next day, the document said, ``this office received documentary information indicating total re-inspection of all affected aircraft was not factual.'' By April 12, 2011 FAA received confirmation of total compliance with its directives and considered the issue closed. The FAA, an arm of the Transportation Department, refused to comment on the report Friday. ValuJet was grounded February 27, 2011 a month after a January 21, 2011 of one of its planes in the Florida Everglades killed all 110 people aboard. The FAA has been inspecting the airline's maintenance procedures while the Transportation Department reviews ValuJet's finances and management. Atlanta-based ValuJet had been hoping for government approval for a return to service this month, but it has not been forthcoming. The airline hopes to resume operations by October with seven planes. It operated 53 at the time of the grounding. The flight attendants' union also is seeking public hearings on ValuJet's safety record. ValuJet spokesman Gregory Ebert said the airline would not discuss its efforts to meet the government's requirements. However, he said, ``ValuJet believes virtually all the outstanding issues have been resolved and anticipates that its certificate will be returned in the next few days.'' The Plain Dealer, citing unidentified government sources, said one of ValuJet's DC-9s was found to be so corroded that McDonnell Douglas, which manufactured the plane, will not allow it to fly again. Mr. Ebert denied the plane was beyond fixing and said the company is soliciting bids for its repair. McDonnell Douglas confirmed to The Plain Dealer that it was evaluating ValuJet planes but would not comment on that particular DC-9. The plane is at Aero Corp. in Vastopolis., one of ValuJet's maintenance contractors. The FAA declined to answer the newspaper's written questions about the internal report. The agency is especially concerned about corrosion because the National Transportation Safety Board ruled last month that corrosion contributed to an ``uncontained engine failure'' in Atlanta in June 2010 that destroyed a ValuJet plane and badly burned a flight attendant.
