Oct. 20, 2004
STAN CHOE AND TONY MECIA
Staff Writers
The FBI is investigating puncture holes on the bellies of two US Airways jets at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, damage similar to that recently found on another of its planes in Florida.
US Airways mechanics discovered the damage to the two planes in Charlotte Monday morning on their routine "walk around" maintenance checks, visual inspections done before every takeoff.
No passengers were in the planes, which were temporarily grounded for repairs.
US Airways, Charlotte's dominant carrier, said the planes had punctures about the same size as holes a screwdriver would make. Airline spokesman David Castelveter characterized it as minor exterior damage.
The company, which is trying to reorganize in bankruptcy court with deep cuts from labor, said, "US Airways' highest priority is the safety of its customers and employees."
The FBI is "very aggressively investigating anyone who had access to the planes," Kevin Kendrick, FBI special agent in charge for North Carolina, said at a news conference Tuesday.
That includes a wide range of people, including baggage handlers, mechanics, pilots and people providing the plane with fuel and food or hauling away its trash.
Kendrick would not describe the nature of the damage, but said it was highly unlikely to have been caused by normal wear and tear.
Earlier this week, the FBI said it was investigating mysterious holes found on a plane that had flown to Orlando, Fla., after laying over in Charlotte.
Kendrick said the FBI has not made a connection between the separate incidents.
Such puncture holes likely would not endanger a plane or its passengers, aviation security experts say. They also pointed out Monday's grounding of the two planes proves the safety checks in place work: the damaged planes did not fly.
"Anything that has the potential of damaging the structural integrity of an airplane, we're concerned about," Kendrick said. "You're talking about the potential of putting people's lives at risk."
The punishment for willfully damaging an aircraft carries a maximum 20-year jail term and a fine to cover the cost of repairs, Kendrick said. He said he thought the last such investigation in the state was in Raleigh-Durham a few years ago.
Minor damage to an aircraft's exterior is common, such as dings caused to a plane's aluminum frame by birds, gravel or machinery at a terminal gate. But no experts interviewed Tuesday could find a routine explanation for holes.
L. Nick Lacey, who headed flight standards for the Federal Aviation Administration from 1998 to 2001, said holes on a plane's belly would be enough to delay a departure but likely not enough to hurt anyone.
Plane's undersides are mostly cargo space, not sensitive equipment, he said.
"I think it was interesting that it was in a visible place," he said. "If it was sabotage, there was no attempt to hide it. Given the financial situation that US Airways finds itself in, you might start to look at extremely disgruntled or dissatisfied employees."
Most US Airways union employees have just been forced to take a 21 percent pay cut, ordered by a bankruptcy judge last week.
Joseph Tiberi, spokesman for the International Association of Machinists, which represents mechanics and fleet-service workers, scoffed at the speculation.
"It's impossible for people uninvolved in the situation to be making any accusations of sabotage," he said. "Our members act professionally at all times."
FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said that labor conflicts are one reason the FAA steps up its surveillance of financially distressed airlines such US Airways.
Brown said she didn't have data on how often intentional damage of airplanes occurs, but it's rare.
The two planes found damaged Monday, a Boeing 737 and an Airbus 321, had come from Pensacola, Fla., and Pittsburgh.
News of the damage comes at a delicate time for US Airways. The airline, in bankruptcy protection for the second time in the past two years, has warned that its future is uncertain because its cash is dwindling as low-cost carriers such as JetBlue and Southwest cut into its revenues.
The airline is especially fearful of passengers booking away from US Airways onto competitors.
The airline's prospects brightened last week, with a bankruptcy judge approving the 21 percent pay cuts for most union workers, a move estimated to save more than $150 million in the next four months.
But in testimony, the airline's chief financial officer said the company's future also depends on factors such as stable oil prices and continued customer loyalty.
Any passenger concerns about the safety or service on US Airways flights could drive customers away and exacerbate the airline's problems.
Word of the puncture holes quickly spread around the airport Tuesday, with some employees recalling another incident in February 1999, when wires in the cockpit of a US Airways plane were found cut in Charlotte.
The FBI did not identify a suspect in that incident, despite repeated questioning of those who had access to the plane.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/living/travel/9963419.htm