FAA wants $4M UPS penalty for alleged safety lapse

[April 25, 2013]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Aviation Administration wants UPS to pay a $4 million penalty over accusations that it handled maintenance improperly on four planes in 2008 and 2009.

The FAA says the package delivery company incorrectly repaired the skin on two planes, and installed the wrong fasteners on two other planes. the wrong fasteners during a repair of the planes, and then flew them. The problems were later discovered, and were corrected after two to three months.

The discrepancies were dealt with in a 2008 consent agreement aimed at fixing issues with record-keeping on aircraft repairs at UPS.

A statement from United Parcel Service Inc. calls the penalty "unwarranted and unreasonable" and says the company believes it never violated FAA rules. It has 30 days to appeal the FAA's proposed penalty.

[Associated Press]

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