Eastern Faces New Allegations of Faking Data : Airlines: The latest charges were contained in an affidavit that was filed to support a federal raid of the carrier’s Miami headquarters two weeks ago.

Eastern Airlines, in court documents made public Friday, was accused of faking aircraft maintenance records in Atlanta and Miami. The new allegations indicate that improper maintenance practices that prompted an indictment of the carrier in July continued up through last month.

The latest charges were contained in an affidavit that was filed to support a federal raid of Eastern’s Miami headquarters two weeks ago. The affidavit was unsealed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn after Eastern lost an appeal to keep the document secret.

The affidavit states that Eastern maintenance supervisors--under pressure to avoid flight delays--routinely faked records to show that repairs were made when they were not. The incidents described in the affidavit took place at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport and at Miami’s airport from 1987 to November, 1990.

Most of the alleged safety violations took place before the machinists union struck the carrier in March, 1989. The allegations are similar to those contained in a July indictment of the airline that concerned maintenance practices at New York’s John F. Kennedy International and La Guardia airports.

Eastern vigorously denied the allegations. In a statement, the carrier said most of the charges were vague and appeared to be made by mechanics who are still on strike against Eastern. One of the government informants has been the subject of disciplinary action at Eastern, the airline said.

Eastern stressed that the Federal Aviation Administration kept a close watch on Eastern’s maintenance practices and has found nothing amiss. And, in an unusually strong counter-attack, Eastern bankruptcy trustee Martin R. Shugrue accused an unnamed assistant U.S. attorney in Brooklyn of turning Eastern into “a career-building case.”

“The same assistant U.S. attorney leading the vendetta against Eastern has some 67,000 frequent-flier miles,” Shugrue said in a statement. “Enough said.”

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney said the office had no comment.

The latest round of charges is yet another blow to the troubled carrier. The carrier’s creditors have sought in bankruptcy proceedings to liquidate it. But a bankruptcy court judge in November gave Eastern permission to spend $135 million from an escrow account, enough to keep it going through spring.

As it struggles to survive, Eastern has tried to build an image as a reliable and safe airline. The allegations, if true, are especially troublesome for Shugrue, who was appointed trustee in April. At least two of the alleged incidents--including a faked entry concerning an oil leak--took place on his watch.

Eastern spokeswoman Karen Ceremsak said the airline believed the new allegations would have little effect on ticket sales.