To: International Brotherhood of Teamsters Airline Division, Members of Congress, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the general public From: Chris Moore, The Aviation Mechanics Coalition, Inc. Date: July 2015 Re: Allegiant Air June Update on Maintenance-Related Issues SUMMARY This June, customers at Allegiant Air experienced a significant decline in the company s service. Given the pilots concern about the deteriorating maintenance of their aircraft, the Aviation Mechanics Coalition compiled off-the-record reports of incidents that came in during June and the first week of July. The data shows that the company s refusal to reinvest in maintenance is resulting in critical issues such as: engines overheating; fumes and smoke reported in the cabin; air conditioning failures; and a lack of spare parts, including tires. It should be noted that the information below has been provided on an ad-hoc basis. While it s indicative of a widespread problem at Allegiant Air, the information is not comprehensive and the likelihood that there are more similar unreported incidents is very high. This update follows an original report released in spring 2015 that tracked incidents from September 2014 through March 2015. That report found: Training is inadequate. There is a lack of process to document equipment failures. Persistent technology failures result in mechanics routinely having to work with manual references faxed from Maintenance Control and in some instances with no paperwork at all, only verbal instructions. Mechanics report a culture of just move the metal and feeling pressured to get the aircraft to the next station. This has been confirmed by pilot reports of mechanics asking them if they can just take the aircraft as it is. There was a lack of spare parts and reliable spare parts. In many instances mechanics are required to cannibalize parts from another aircraft because adequate in stock spares are not available. There was inadequate tooling or equipment. Mechanics have reported that critical jobs such as stabilizer jack screw lubrication cannot be performed due to lack of training on equipment and unavailability of safety equipment. As you will see, the problems identified earlier this year continue unabated well into 2015. Please see Teamsterair.org for the list of mechanical issues. Definitions: AR= Air Return Aircraft is inflight and the crew determines that for safety purposes, they must return to the airport of departure. DV= Diversion
The crew determines for the safety of the flight, that they must land at the nearest suitable airport along the route of flight. GR= Gate Return After the flight has left the gate and prior to takeoff, a condition develops that requires a return to the gate for maintenance. LSA= Low Speed Abort DE= Declared Emergency Prior to V1 (the speed at which a safe abort cannot be made and the aircraft must takeoff), an event occurs that requires the crew to abort the takeoff run a very high risk event. Flight A/C # A/C Type Departure. Destination Diverted Status Date AAY864 869 MD 80 PIE HGR PIE AR 6/8/15 Event: After takeoff Flight Attendant reported Smoke and Fumes in the Cabin. AAY787 876GA MD80 XNA SFB XNA AR 6/11/15 Event: APU fuel leaking creating fuel and causing overpowering fumes in the cabin. Passengers self- evacuated onto the wing. AAY432 878GA MD 80 LAS MLI LAS AR 6/12/15 Event: Engine power indication issues. AAY526 415NV MD80 LAS SCK LAS AR 6/12/15 Event: Left engine overtemp on takeoff. AAY462 886GA MD80 LAS LRD AR 6/15/15 Event: Tail Compartment Hi Temp and High Engine EGT. High EGT is an indication of a Deteriorating engine. Hi tail compartment temperature is a no go item indicating a serious bleed air leak in the tail compartment which can lead system failures or AAY 473 422NV MD80 LAS SHV ABQ DV 6/15/15 Event: Center Fuel Tank Display inop. The crew uses the fuel in the wing tanks first and the center tank last. Without the center tank fuel quantity indicator the flight crew would have no idea what the actual fuel quantity was. AAY514 892GA MD80 LAS FAT AR 6/15/15 Event: Flight Director Failure AAY526 875GA MD80 LAS SCK AR 6/15/15
AAY2622 409NV MD80 CVG PGD GR 6/16/15 Event: Smoke in the cockpit. AAY866 223NV A320 ` PIE PIT AR 6/17/15 Event: #2 Air conditioning pack failed in flight. Aircraft may not be able to maintain cabin pressurization at a safe level for passengers and crew. AAY224 304NV A319 BLI LAS GR 6/18/15 Event: Rudder travel limited. The rudder is a primary control surface and must be fully operational in order to maintain control of the aircraft. AAY436 420NV MD80 LAS PIA GR 6/18/15 Event: Aircraft returned to the gate twice with an engine unresponsive to throttle movement. AAY424 892GA MD80 LAS MEM AR 6/19/15 Event: Both autopilots failed. AAY502 MD 80 LAS SMX LAS AR 6/19/15 Event: Passenger window shattered. This is a very uncommon occurrence and could have led to a rapid decompression of the aircraft. 983 411NV MD 80 ABE PGD ABE AR 6/21/15 Event: Engine Overtemp on Takeoff. Possible engine failure during a critical phase of flight. AAY514 422NV MD80 LAS FAT GR 6/22/15 Event: High EGT at Idle. AAY526 429NV MD80 LAS SCK GR 6/22/15 Event: High EGT at Idle. AAY136 872GA MD80 IWA FAR AR 6/24/15 AAY305 402NV MD 80 MFE LAX IWA DV 6/25/15
Event: Smoke in the Cockpit is an indication of fire or failure of electrical / Electronic components. AAY174 872GA MD80 IAW PSC AR 6/25/15 Event: Generator and APU Issues. Losing an engine generator and APU limits the Aircraft to one electrical power supply. AAY446 892GA MD80 LAS MOT AR 6/25/15 AAY460 410NV MD80 LAS CID AR 6/25/15 AAY156 418NV MD80 IAW COS AR 6/26/15 AAY411 878GA MD80 LAS BLI AR 6/26/15 Event: Tail Compartment HI Temp light on and High Engine Oil Temperature. High tail compartment temperature is a no go item indicating a serious bleed air leak that could lead to system failures or High Engine Oil Temperature is an indication of a bearing failure that could lead to a catastrophic engine failure. Emergency Declared AAY980 426NV MD80 PDG YNG AR 6/27/15 Event: Engine Overtemp on Takeoff. Possible engine failure during a critical phase of flight. AAY514 MD 80 LAS FAT DE 6/29/15 Event: On Descent, Rt Engine losing oil and then oil pressure and had to be shut down forcing the Pilot to declare an Emergency and Land one Engine. AAY668 862GA MD 80 MYR LEX Delay 4 hrs Event: Both Engines Hi Temp on Start. AAY102 301NV A319 IAW OGD CXLD 7/6/15 Event: Flight cancelled. Aircraft needed a tire change and Allegiant had no tires in stock.
Background on The Aviation Mechanics Coalition, Inc. The Aviation Mechanics Coalition, Inc. (TAMC) promotes the common interest of FAA-licensed aviation mechanics working in the United States aviation industry. In this regard, it promotes industry-wide safety rules and regulations affecting aviation maintenance and monitors aviation safety-related trends in the industry. TAMC also seeks to foster a better working environment for aviation industry mechanics and to identify and help eliminate obstacles and work-related disincentives leading to the erosion and dissipation of the aviation maintenance profession. Among other projects and operations undertaken by TAMC are: (1) the promotion and support of industry-wide safety rules and regulations through legislative and regulatory activity; (2) the performance of safety-related best-practices audits to measure airline maintenance safety compliance to ensure that maintenance professionals' working environments are safe; (3) the promotion and support of industry-wide health and retirement security standards for maintenance professionals to better ensure stable, long-term employment within the aviation maintenance profession; and (4) legislative, regulatory and media outreach to expose the hazards of outsourced aviation maintenance to the flying public and to prevent the loss of aviation maintenance professionals' jobs and work opportunities to low-wage, under-regulated and unsafe foreign maintenance operations. (5) Develop education programs specific to attracting and retaining workers to the industry. (6) Provide continued education programs for the advancement of Aviation Safety.