FAA to slap $10.2 million fine on Southwest Airlines for safety violations

US aviation regulator, Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA) has slapped a $10.2 million civil penalty on Southwest Airlines (SWA) "for operating 46 airplanes without performing mandatory inspections for fuselage fatigue cracking," which in its opinion represented "deliberate violations" of an airworthiness directive (AD).

If the fine sticks it would become the largest-ever penalty imposed by FAA on an airline for safety violations.

The FAA alleges that from 18 June 2006, to 14 March 2007, the SWA operated 46 737 Classics on 59,791 flights "while failing to comply" with the AD. "Subsequently, the airline found that six of the 46 airplanes had fatigue cracks," it said.

"FAA is taking action against Southwest Airlines for failing to follow rules that are designed to protect passengers and crew," said associate administrator-aviation safety Nicholas Sabatini. "We expect the airline industry to fully comply with all FAA directives and take corrective action."

FAA further alleges that after SWA "discovered that it had failed to accomplish the required repetitive inspections. . .it continued to operate those same 46 airplanes on an additional 1,451 flights [in March 2007]. The amount of the civil penalty reflects the serious nature of those deliberate violations."

The low cost carrier, which boasts of an outstanding safety record, has 30 days to formally respond to the allegations.

In a statement to the media SWA said it had found "the start of some very small cracking" on six of the 46 737 Classics, insisting that "These are safe planes."

It also said that it believed the matter had been settled last year.