FAA investigating regional airline’s pilot safety practices

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a regional commercial airline for alleged persistent safety issues resulting in potentially dangerous situations for passengers of some American Airlines flights.

CNN reported Wednesday that the FAA sent a letter to Envoy Air, a regional U.S. carrier that handles some American Airlines flights, warning the company about “consistent evidence showing potential lack of airmanship” demonstrated by pilots for Envoy Air flights.

Pointing to numerous instances of pilot error, including one incident in which pilots nearly forgot to perform a mandatory checklist before takeoff and another in which a flight almost landed on a runway that was potentially too short, the agency warned that a potential trend of poor safety practices or training at the company should be examined.

“These events are representative of the more serious operational events that evidence poor airmanship trends, among other issues,” read the letter, according to CNN. “Collectively, these narratives point to issues that are deeper than what spot training or counseling have been able to resolve.”

The Hill has reached out to American Airlines for comment. Envoy Air responded to CNN in a statement, pledging that it was working with federal investigators “to transparently and collaboratively examine the root cause of each potential issue and take any necessary corrective actions if needed.”

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and employees,” Envoy spokeswoman Minnette Vélez-Conty told CNN. “If issues are raised — either internally by our team or by the FAA — we work to address them immediately.”

The spokeswoman added that Envoy regularly shares data with the FAA regarding pilot errors “to enhance the overall safety of our airline and the industry, and will continue to do so.”