EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PRELIMINARY (INTERIM) REPORT ValuJet AIRLINES ValuJet Airlines (VJ6A) is a Part 121 domestic carrier which operates 44 McDonnell Douglas DC-9s of various model configurations. Valulet has two main line maintenance bases, one in Atlanta, GA. and another at Dulles Airport, Washington, D. C. ValuJet's aircraft line maintenance department is composed of 71 ValuJet employees and is heavily supplemented by contract labor. On February 22, 1996, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began an intensive, focused surveillance program of Valulet's line maintenance activities. The Atlanta FSDO and supporting geographical offices performed a total of 306 inspections of operations, aircraft and line stations. During this first seven (7) calendar days of the initial surveillance program, ValuJet incurred 132 maintenance delays, versus an average of 44.48 maintenance delays per week for January 1996. This increase of delays indicates an overall discovery of discrepancies that were not recognized by ValuJet's maintenance organization. This overall delay rate may be an indicator of ValuJet's quality of routine inspection and maintenance tasks such as "N" checks, "A" checks and "B" checks. Additionally, ValuJet's minimum equipment list (MEL) values increased from a low of 51 items to a high of 70 items with a daily average of 58.3 MELs per day. For comparison purposes, ValuJet's average daily MEL/CDL rate for January, 1996 was 12.03 items per day. This increase in the MEL/CDL rate is also a contributing factor and relates to the overall effectiveness of ValuJet's maintenance organization's ability to repair aircraft discrepancies considering such factors such as lack of parts, lack of manpower or limited aircraft down time while providing an acceptable level of safety. -uring this surveillance program, a total of six (6) aircraft were inspected immediately after the performance of either a "N" or an "A" check. Ji should be noted that five (5) or 83.3% of these aircraft were found to have discrepancies. The most notable discrepancies were concerning flight attendant seats, loose or missing hardware, etc... An analysis of discrepancies discovered has been categorized into the 10 leading categories and the number c >ccurrences a discrepancy was discovered by FAA personnel. It should be noted that the maintenance organization of ValuJet Airlines is compliance in nature, and has Operated with the FAA fully during this inspection. As this inspection continues, this report will be expanded and focused on certain areas of concern. |