Former ValuJet Again Facing Allegations
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CLEVELAND — Federal inspectors have found a number of serious safety-related violations at the air carrier formerly known as ValuJet Airlines, a newspaper reported Sunday.
The airline, now called AirTran Airlines, said it will sue the Cleveland Plain Dealer if the report isn’t retracted.
The violations included falsified documents, improper maintenance, faulty repairs and repeated failures to supervise contractors. The findings were in internal Federal Aviation Administration documents obtained by the Plain Dealer.
The documents, based on a three-week inspection that ended Nov. 7, show the airline had more serious violations than a February 1996 report that recommended that the burgeoning ValuJet be grounded. That warning went unheeded until after the May 11, 1996, crash of ValuJet Flight 592 into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 aboard. The discount airline was eventually grounded for more than three months.
The FAA said it would not comment until the final report is completed and its findings are validated. AirTran said the final report would prove the findings premature.
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