The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting a 90-day inspection of Allegiant Air, which flies out of Lehigh Valley International Airport, in response to "internal issues" tied to maintenance and safety.
Such a comprehensive review is normally conducted at all airlines every five years, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said Friday.
"We moved up the date for Allegiant's evaluation from 2018 to 2016 to ensure that work the carrier is doing to address various internal issues has resulted in the desired improvements," he said in a statement.
The review is expected to wrap up in late June, he said.
The FAA also said it is not uncommon for it to move up airlines' evaluation dates. Factors that accelerate a review include management changes, labor disputes, incidents and changes in fleet types.
The FAA provided little other detail about the reasons for the inspection but said the issues were related to two flights last summer. One involved a near-crash of an aircraft in Las Vegas that sustained a jammed elevator on its tail during a takeoff that was aborted. The second involved an emergency landing at an airport in Fargo, N.D., due to low fuel.
In February, an Allegiant jet carrying 152 passengers and a crew of six had two tires blow out while landing at LVIA from Orlando. No one was injured in the incident, and FAA officials said the aircraft was returned to service after maintenance replaced its four wheel assemblies. The FAA declined Friday to say if its investigation led to any reprimand against Allegiant.
"We have no additional information to provide about the incident," said Jim Peters, another FAA spokesman.
In a statement, Allegiant said it welcomes the FAA's inspection. "Allegiant's priority is to ensure the safety of each and every passenger that flies on our aircraft," the airlines said. "We have every confidence in our operation, and commit to sharing a summary of the FAA's review after it is concluded."
The FAA's review comes as Allegiant officials confirmed problems with operations after a year of steadfastly insisting the airline was functioning well. Allegiant CEO Maurice Gallagher Jr. recently conceded the airline had a "bad summer" in 2015, with several emergency landings at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport.
The Allegiant pilots union, involved in bitter contract negotiations, said Allegiant's recent comments on problems are overdue.
"It's clear that Allegiant's bare-minimum approach to its operation isn't working," said Dan Wells, president of Teamsters Local 1224. "The federal government is conducting a high-profile investigation, and with an emergency occurring virtually every week due to a preventable maintenance issue, passengers are increasingly saying it isn't worth the risk to fly Allegiant."
Allegiant operates flights from LVIA to several Florida cities, including Tampa/St. Petersburg and Orlando/Sanford, as well as Myrtle Beach, S.C.
(Culled from mcall.com)
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