Originally Posted by
shfo
I want to know who decides the amount of the fine. Eagle was recently fined $2.9 million for flying 1100 flights with improperly repaired gear doors while Chautauqua was fined 348,000 for flying 27,700 flights with various inspections missing.
In other words Eagle was fined $2,636 per flight and Chautauqua was fined $12.56 per flight.
Maybe because when gear doors fail, there are lots of news helicopters waiting to film the results. Bad press for the whole airline and attaboys for "the pilot" that manages to set her down without balling it up.
When a wing spar fails there is usually nobody there to film the final moments. Chalk it up to low-time regional pilots and move on.
The skeptic in me would like to point out that if BB gambled with skipping inspections to save money, and his ultimate fine is $13 per skipped inspection, then his gamble paid off handsomely. There's no way a spar or engine inspection would have been cheaper than the $13 dollars to NOT do it.
I wonder if this pittance of a fine will get the attention it deserves?