Era Aviation grounded
 

Era grounds flights to upgrade cockpit recordersAnchorage Daily News (MICHELLE THERIAULT BOOTS) 09/16/2012 5:38 PM
Era Aviation grounded flights over the weekend after a Federal Aviation Administration investigation prompted by a recent altitude loss incident showed cockpit voice recorders didn't meet regulatory standards, FAA officials and a company spokesman said Sunday.

Era spokesman Steve Smith said that the airline had learned the cockpit recorders were not up-to-date and needed to be replaced.

The company voluntarily grounded its fleet Saturday afternoon.

"(The cockpit recorders were) an older model and they needed to be updated to a newer model," he said.

Smith said he couldn't explain why the company didn't know its recorders were out-of-date or why the company didn't fix the problem before having to take the drastic step of ceasing flying operations.

"I don't have that answer for you," he said.

Inclement weather in Southcentral Alaska and on the Kenai Peninsula was also a factor in the company's decision to ground its 12 aircraft over the weekend, according to Smith. Passengers were being rerouted onto other carriers or later Era flights, he said.

The FAA investigation that turned up the out-of-date equipment was spurred by an incident earlier in September in which a twin-engine turboprop Era plane flying from Anchorage to Homer suddenly dropped from 12,000 to 7,000 feet in altitude with 12 passengers and three crew members onboard, according to an initial report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

No one was injured. The FAA is still investigating the incident.

Hageland Aviation, a carrier under the Era Alaska umbrella, wasn't affected.

As of Sunday the company has the parts to update its equipment, Smith said. The fix could take up to a few days.

I think "Era Aviation Grounded by FAA" may be a bit misleading of a title...there's a considerable difference between saying "hey, we screwed up, we're gonna cancel a few flights and get things fixed" and the FAA coming to you and saying "you're grounded...get your sh!t together."

+1..........

+2 ::filler::

Ok, so Era Aviation is just grounded. I just never heard of a 121 airline grounding their entire fleet. Any idea on how many flights were cancelled? And when Era will resume flying?

Happens more often than you'd think. Back in '08, Trans States grounded its entire fleet for a couple of days to get in compliance with some maintenance they hadn't done. And IIRC, that was with the FAA's gun to their head.

So the main question....does that chick from the show need some consoling?

Apparently she runs like a 10k every morning at day break. Keep up with that, the company can be yours!

I've seen the show, and some of the crazy a@$ S&!t she eats; she'd better have a good mouthwash.

Era Aviation says FAA-ordered upgrades complete Associated Press () 09/19/2012 10:08 AM
Era Alaska says it has completed all necessary upgrades and the Era Aviation fleet is resuming scheduled operations in Alaska after the commuter airline grounded 12 planes last weekend.

In a statement Tuesday evening, President and CEO Bob Hajdukovich said staffers completed the upgrades quickly and thoroughly. He thanked customers for their patience.

The airline resumed some limited service on Monday.

The planes were grounded after Federal Aviation Administration officers determined cockpit voice recorders were out of date. Era says high winds also affected some flights.

KMXT reported that the federal investigation stems from an incident this month when an Era plane traveling from Anchorage to Homer dropped 5,000 feet before pilots regained control.

adn.com