Delta Probe to Focus on Four Suspected Human Errors
A federal investigation of Delta Airlines initially will focus on four safety-related incidents that apparently involved human error, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Frank Leyden said Wednesday.
The FAA is conducting a systemwide investigation of the carrier after at least a dozen mishaps in recent weeks involving Delta jetliners.
The latest incidents occurred Wednesday, when a Delta flight bound for Salt Lake City returned to Los Angeles International Airport shortly after takeoff because a galley door was improperly closed and another bound for Mexico returned to LAX after it experienced a control panel malfunction, the FAA said. No injuries were reported.
Dick Jones, a spokesman for Delta in Atlanta, said that the airline will cooperate in every way it can with the investigation.
“We are every bit as concerned about safety factors as the people at the FAA,” Jones said. “We will enthusiastically participate in their review of Delta’s procedures.”
Leyden said investigators will examine Delta’s long-range navigation procedures and training, crew training for routine and abnormal procedures, and pilot training.
The first four incidents targeted for scrutiny include the sudden plunge of a Delta Boeing 767 to within 600 feet of the ocean off Los Angeles when the pilot accidentally cut off fuel to both engines on June 30; the landing of a Delta Boeing 737 at the wrong airport in Kentucky on July 6; a narrow miss and a close pass of a Delta Lockheed L-1011 with other jetliners off Newfoundland on July 8; and another Delta 767 landing on the wrong runway in Boston last Sunday.
“The data collection phase has already begun and is expected to take three to six weeks,” Leyden said. “Preliminary results should be available within 90 days. . . . The FAA will initiate immediate action to correct any deficiencies found.”
One of Wednesday’s incidents involved Delta’s Flight 1558, a Boeing 727 with 146 passengers aboard, which returned to LAX at 12:03 p.m. “because the pilot was unable to pressurize the cabin,” FAA spokeswoman Elly Brekke said.
The jetliner had reached an altitude of about 4,000 feet when the pilot, who was not identified, decided to return.
“It took approximately 15 minutes to fix the problem, but due to flight control delays it didn’t depart again until 2:20 p.m,” Delta spokesman Vince Durocher said.
“The FAA is not considering this an emergency situation,” she said. “We’re not considering it a safety impairment. We’re considering it a mechanical incident.”
Earlier, Delta Flight 1762, a Boeing 737-200 carrying 61 passengers to Mazatlan, was forced to turn back after the crew discovered a control panel had malfunctioned. Durocher said the plane landed at 11:30 a.m. and the panel was fixed soon afterward, but the flight was canceled because the crew already had logged the maximum legal amount of flight time for the day.
FAA spokesman Russell Park said both incidents were serious and Delta could face a fine if the FAA “determines something was improperly or incorrectly done.”
