ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 28, 1996 TAG: 9609300027
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: Bloomberg Business News
THEIR UNION says the DOT is ignoring records of safety violations.
The union representing ValuJet Inc. flight attendants said Friday it will file suit in federal court to keep the discount airline from resuming flight operations.
The Association of Flight Attendants said it will file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, seeking to overturn the Department of Transportation's decision Thursday to allow the Atlanta-based airline to resume operations.
``The DOT ignores a voluminous record of safety violations and incompetent management,'' said Patricia Friend, president of the union.
ValuJet was grounded in June, after an intensive safety investigation that came on the heels of a crash in the Florida Everglades that killed 110 people.
In ruling that ValuJet may resume flights, the DOT rejected the union's request to stay its order pending the union's appeal. A stay would suspend DOT's decision and permit the union time to appeal before ValuJet is allowed to resume flying.
The AFA cited what it claims are a series of errors by the DOT, including the charge that ValuJet filed an incomplete application in seeking permission to resume flying, leaving key positions unfilled.
The DOT responded to more than 20 filings before declaring ValuJet safe to fly, said John Coleman, director of the DOT's office of aviation analysis.
The most significant issue federal officials dealt with was a charge by Susan Clayton, a former ValuJet flight attendant and union member, that former flight attendant supervisor Vince Castillo told her his higher-ups asked him to falsify training records, Coleman said.
When tracked down by the DOT, Castillo denied making any such statement to Clayton.
``ValuJet has met all of the FAA's requirements and our requirements and we've certificated them to fly,'' Coleman said.
ValuJet Inc. shares fell 88 cents on Friday to $12 with more than 4.82 million shares changing hands, making it the third-most active issue in U.S. trading.
Shares of the carrier gained 26 percent Thursday after ValuJet won permission to resume flights. ``Investors remember that this was the most-successful start up in aviation history and they're hoping to be part of its revival,'' said Samuel Buttrick, PaineWebber's airline analyst. ``Of course, it's a long road back to the airline's glory days.''
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. Dean Kells plays with his 2-month-old daughter asby CNBhe waits in line at the Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport to
buy a ValuJet ticket to Orlando, Fla. 2. A ValuJet plane is seen in
this June 17, 1996 file photo. The airline got its wings back
Thursday. ValuJet President Lewis Jordan told a news conference that
the airline will resume flying Monday.