Spate Of Incidents Earns United More FAA Scrutiny

United Airlines has given its employees a heads-up to expect more FAA inspectors across all its operations after a cluster of incidents involving its aircraft. In the last couple of weeks United planes have been involved in a variety of mishaps, none of which resulted in any injuries. Most involved Boeing aircraft but Airbus products have also been affected and Sasha Johnson, the airline's VP of corporate safety, said the FAA wants to have a look around. “They agree that we need to take an even closer look at multiple areas of our operation to ensure we are doing all we can to promote and drive safety compliance,” Johnson wrote in a general staff memo.

Among the incidents that have grabbed media attention in the last three weeks are a taxiway diversion, a wheel coming loose, a FOD-related engine fire and the loss of a piece of fuselage fairing on an aircraft. There have also been hydraulics and other maintenance issues. Most haven't been out of the ordinary, but the unusual concentration and the heightened public awareness of aviation incidents in light of Boeing's manufacturing controversy have focused more attention on them. FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told NBC last week he discussed the probe with United CEO Scott Kirby. “He’s concerned. I’m concerned. No one likes to see this spike of incidents,” Whitaker told NBC. “So we’re both doing our jobs to look at where those risks might be.”