11 airlines face FAA safety probe

WASHINGTON - Eleven US airlines face investigations and possible fines for not following safety directives, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

FAA audits found 17 cases in which the carriers, three of them so-called major airlines, allegedly failed to meet directives, acting administrator Robert Sturgell said yesterday. No passengers were at risk, the FAA said, without naming the companies.

"Obviously the goal is 100 percent compliance," Sturgell said at a news conference in Washington. "You have to continually improve the system."

The review was designed to find lapses in safety rules beyond those uncovered this year at Southwest Airlines Co. Southwest might have to pay a record $10.2 million fine for operating 46 Boeing 737s on 59,791 flights in 2006 and 2007 without full inspections for fuselage cracks.

The FAA, which controls the world's busiest airspace, has been trying to boost confidence in its oversight of airline maintenance after a US House panel turned up safety flaws and omissions during an investigation of Southwest.

Airworthiness directives are issued routinely when the FAA concludes airplane parts or airline procedures might produce a safety risk.