Some USAir Repairs Faked, Carrier Says

USAir supervisors at two airports falsified records to cover plane repairs that were not done, the ailing airline says.

In addition, mechanics’ allegations of broader abuses are under government investigation.

When approached by the Associated Press, USAir described the problems as “confined.”

An airline watchdog group called any violation “unacceptable” because of the public safety issues at stake.

At the two airports:

* A USAir maintenance supervisor in Charlotte, N.C., acknowledged he allowed a jet to fly with a defective warning system--to save the airline money, he said. The carrier suspended and demoted the employee.

* In Indianapolis, USAir said it had found a “small handful” of similar problems at its maintenance center, but also said the repairs involved such things as water systems that did not affect flight safety.

The company says it plans to take disciplinary action against two foremen in Indianapolis who signed for repairs that were not done or signed repair records that should have been signed by mechanics under them.

“We view this as a serious problem,” USAir general counsel Jim Lloyd said in an interview at the airline’s headquarters in suburban Washington. “But I think we’ve got a pretty good handle on it. . . . It is confined and it does not involve things that affect flight safety.”

The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits any airline supervisor from signing for repairs that aren’t complete--a practice known in the industry as “pencil-whipping”--and instances of such violations are considered rare, agency spokesman Fred Farrar said.