QUICK SEARCH:
 
Latest News
Aviation International News
Airshow & Convention News
AIN Defense Perspective
AIN Air Transport Perspective
Business Jet Traveler
AINalerts
AINmxReports
AINtv
AIN Blogs


SUBSCRIBE NOW...

SPECIAL REPORTS

Bizav Web Directory
Visit our directory of manufacturers, suppliers and service providers

Issue Archives
Search through years of
AIN past issues


CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Search through the latest
events and conferences



REPRINTS

RSS Feed



Colgan Inspector Blows Whistle on FAA

An FAA inspector has filed a federal “whistleblower” complaint against his employer, charging the agency with removing him from his field position overseeing the certification of Colgan Air’s Bombardier Q400 operation last year when he raised concerns about pilot flying performance and the airline’s safety culture.

FAA acting assistant administrator for communications Laura Brown told AIN that the agency assembled a team of outside inspectors in April last year to investigate the claims, and found some procedural and technical problems but no serious regulatory violations. The inspector, Christopher Monteleon, alleges that Colgan pilots
flew their airplane too fast with its flaps extended and bungled multiple attempts at landing the Q400 in Charleston, W.Va., among other transgressions.

“The bottom line was we didn’t find any issues that presented regulatory violations,” said Brown, who added that the inspection team found “some issues with the difference between the flight characteristics of the aircraft and the simulator they were using at the time” and recommended “changing the way some of the inspectors made their reports to their supervisors.”

Later, the agency placed Monteleon on paid leave, reportedly after managers accused him of menacing an FAA attorney. Brown confirmed that Monteleon remained on leave, but said that privacy laws prevented her from discussing the reason.

Back

Share This Article With Others

Tweet thisDigg thisRedditBookmark on deliciousStumble thisShare on FacebookFave on Technorati

Related Articles

United Signs Firm Order for 25 A350 XWB aircraft
March 10, 2010

United Airlines has signed a firm order for 25 Airbus A350-900 XWBs, formalizing a commitment originally announced last December, the European...

 
Boeing, Turkish Airlines Finalize Order for 20 Next Generation 737s
March 08, 2010

Boeing and Turkish Airlines have finalized an order for ten 737-800s and ten 737-900ERs, the manufacturer announced today. Now flying 66 Boeing...

 
Atlas Air To Fly Boeing Dreamlifters, Replacing Evergreen
March 05, 2010

Boeing has awarded a nine-year contract to Atlas Air for the operation of the manufacturer’s four Dreamlifter cargo haulers starting “toward the...

Single News Page
 
IATA Figures Show Big Jump in January Traffic
March 02, 2010

In perhaps another sign of an impending recovery for the world’s air transport industry, international scheduled air traffic for January rose...

 
Fourth Superjet 100 Flies on Borrowed Powerjet Engines
February 26, 2010

Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (SCAC) managed to fly the fourth prototype of the Superjet 100 this month, no thanks to Russian engine maker NPO Saturn,...

Single News Page