AMR Corp.'s American Airlines operated jets later found to have substandard repairs, and federal regulators are probing allegations that at least one plane was considered unsafe to fly at normal cruise altitude, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Federal Aviation Administration's latest moves, these people said, indicate the agency is expanding its probe into suspected structural problems with rear bulkheads on a small portion of American's fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets.
Earlier this year, American took more than a dozen planes out of passenger service, retiring several of them, after finding they had improper bulkhead repairs. FAA inspectors are pursuing allegations from pilots that one of those MD-80s was believed to be in such poor condition that it was ferried without passengers from Dallas to the carrier's Tulsa, Okla., maintenance base at unusually low altitudes to avoid the stress of pressurizing the fuselage during the trip.
I've spent thousands of hours on MD-80s, and more than a few of them are really showing their age. Here's hoping AA gets more 737s in service ASAP.