Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 25, 1993 TAG: 9303250063
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
RECORDS PROBLEMS SPOTTED IN CHARLOTTE
USAir and federal officials were alerted to allegations of maintenance irregularities at the airline in a case last year in Charlotte, N.C.USAir Maintenance Supervisor Everette B. Tate told Federal Aviation Administration inspectors in a sworn deposition that the company's desire to cut costs influenced his decision to let a jet fly with a defective warning system.
Tate said he let the Boeing 737 fly with passengers from Charlotte to Jacksonville, N.C., on March 29, 1992, after mechanics failed to repair the jet's system that warns of danger of an engine stall.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press show that Tate signed a maintenance log entry that indicated the system had been repaired and was operating correctly.
"Was your thinking one of passenger convenience or was it saving the company money, or what was behind your thinking? Why did you actually do this?" FAA inspector David Bowden asked Tate in the deposition.
Tate replied: "I felt that it was not detrimental, and I did feel since it was the last flight of the night that we [could] dispatch the aircraft. Yes, it was for the sake of the company; right."
"So you felt that you were saving the company money?" Bowden asked.
"Yes, sir," Tate replied.
"The financial condition of the airline had a bearing on this?" the FAA inspector asked again.
"Yes, sir. I would say it did," Tate said.
USAir suspended Tate for 10 days without pay and transferred him permanently to the sheet-metal shop. The FAA suspended his mechanic's license in September for six months. The chief pilot on the flight had his license pulled for 30 days.
Tate, reached for comment on Wednesday, said USAir officials had told him not to speak to the media.