The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that its safety investigation into United Airlines did not reveal any significant issues at the airline. A statement from the agency said: “The FAA finished its Certificate Holder Evaluation Program (CHEP) of United Airlines. The review did not identify any significant safety issues.”
United had been under close scrutiny by the agency since the spring following a series of safety-related incidents, including a stuck rudder in February that has been the subject of urgent guidance from the National Transportation Safety Board. Another high-profile incident involved a plane losing a tire on takeoff from Los Angeles and damaging cars in a parking lot near the airfield.
Scott Kirby, United’s CEO, acknowledged the incidents in a March letter, and the company’s vice president for corporate safety revealed the FAA’s “increased presence” at the airline’s operations in a memo to employees days later.
Some of the restrictions during the FAA’s probe may have included limiting the airline from adding new planes or routes, but the agency said it was ending its enhanced oversight and approval process for those actions as well.
