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FAA denies AirTran request
Old planes must get reinforced doors
Mary Lou Pickel - Staff
Friday, February 14, 2003
The Federal Aviation Administration denied a request by AirTran Airways to exempt its oldest jets from the requirement for reinforced cockpit doors on airliners.
The Orlando-based airline asked for a waiver for up to 12 older DC-9 jets that it plans to take out of service by October.
American Airlines also asked for an extension for some of its Airbus A300s, citing parts issues, and was also denied by the FAA.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress required all airlines to install heavy cockpit doors by April 9 to impede access to the cockpit by hijackers.
The doors should be able to withstand bullets, grenades or a drink cart used as a battering ram. In the meantime, airlines have installed bars across the doors.
AirTran is phasing out its last dozen DC-9s this year and replacing them with Boeing 717s. It wanted to skip installing the doors on the old planes.
The FAA said AirTran''s request was not in the public interest and could adversely affect safety.
AirTran says it will have to spend about $300,000, not including labor, to retrofit the DC-9s for their last few months of flying. It won''t be able to reuse the new doors on the new 717s.
We''re going to have to eat the cost, AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson said.
The airline has decided to take three DC-9 aircraft out of operation before April 9, he said, and will install new doors on the other 10. Retrofitting the planes is cheaper than grounding them, Hutcheson said.
So far, 2,919 heavy cockpit doors have been installed on U.S. aircraft, FAA spokesman Christopher White said. That represents about 47 percent of the planes that must undergo the retrofit.
The Air Transport Association, a trade organization for many large airlines, estimated the doors will cost carriers $243 million. The government will pay $97 million of that cost.
Old planes must get reinforced doors
Mary Lou Pickel - Staff
Friday, February 14, 2003
The Federal Aviation Administration denied a request by AirTran Airways to exempt its oldest jets from the requirement for reinforced cockpit doors on airliners.
The Orlando-based airline asked for a waiver for up to 12 older DC-9 jets that it plans to take out of service by October.
American Airlines also asked for an extension for some of its Airbus A300s, citing parts issues, and was also denied by the FAA.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress required all airlines to install heavy cockpit doors by April 9 to impede access to the cockpit by hijackers.
The doors should be able to withstand bullets, grenades or a drink cart used as a battering ram. In the meantime, airlines have installed bars across the doors.
AirTran is phasing out its last dozen DC-9s this year and replacing them with Boeing 717s. It wanted to skip installing the doors on the old planes.
The FAA said AirTran''s request was not in the public interest and could adversely affect safety.
AirTran says it will have to spend about $300,000, not including labor, to retrofit the DC-9s for their last few months of flying. It won''t be able to reuse the new doors on the new 717s.
We''re going to have to eat the cost, AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson said.
The airline has decided to take three DC-9 aircraft out of operation before April 9, he said, and will install new doors on the other 10. Retrofitting the planes is cheaper than grounding them, Hutcheson said.
So far, 2,919 heavy cockpit doors have been installed on U.S. aircraft, FAA spokesman Christopher White said. That represents about 47 percent of the planes that must undergo the retrofit.
The Air Transport Association, a trade organization for many large airlines, estimated the doors will cost carriers $243 million. The government will pay $97 million of that cost.
