United Airlines Boeing wide body 777-200 aircraft as seen during take off and flying phase, passing in front of the air traffic control tower while the plane is departing from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport AMS towards Houston IAH in the United States of America as flight UA21.
Nicolas Economou | Nurphoto | Getty Images
The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that it is proposing a more than $1.1 million penalty against United Airlines for allegedly failing to perform required fire-system safety checks on its Boeing 777s.
United didn’t immediately comment.
The FAA alleged that in 2018 United removed a fire system warning check from a preflight checklist and operated 102,488 Boeing 777 flights from June 2018 to April 2021, without making sure they were in an airworthy condition “properly maintained for operation,” according to a letter from the FAA on Monday to United’s CEO Scott Kirby. CNBC viewed the letter.
“The inspection is required in the maintenance specifications manual. Removal of the check resulted in United’s failure to perform the required check and the operation of aircraft that did not meet airworthiness requirement,” the FAA said in a statement.
United had 96 Boeing 777s as of the end of 2021, making up about 11% of its total fleet, according to a securities filing.
