FAA probes Envoy Air over safety concerns

Envoy Air (MQ, Dallas/Fort Worth) – which provides regional services for American Airlines, under the American Eagle brand – says it is working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Air Line Pilots Association Int’l (ALPA) to deal with safety issues flagged by the regulator. The wholly-owned American Airlines subsidiary was reacting to a recent report by CNN that the FAA was investigating it for alleged persistent safety issues. A January 2021 letter from an FAA inspector to Envoy Air Chief Executive Officer Pedro Fábregas – obtained by CNN – detailed nine concerning incidents in 2019 and 2020. The FAA wrote: “These events are representative of the more serious operational events that evidence poor airmanship trends, among other issues. Collectively, these narratives point to issues that are deeper than what spot training or counseling have been able to resolve.” The FAA pointed out one incident in which pilots nearly forgot to perform a mandatory checklist before take-off, another where pilots almost landed on the wrong runway, or where a pilot “who truly lacked knowledge concerning what is acceptable” had challenged the results of a failed flight proficiency test. The FAA wrote it would work with the airline to develop an “action plan” to resolve the “unsafe operational trends”. It declined to provide further information or share the plan citing the pending investigation. FAA administrator Steve Dickson told CNN the probe was “based on data that we have been able to glean by working with the operator to identify where there might be areas of emerging risk that they need to focus on”. Envoy Air told CNN it was working with the FAA and pilot union “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,” spokeswoman Minnette Vélez-Conty said in a statement. “If issues are raised – either internally by our team or by the FAA – we work to address them immediately.” The airline said several of the incidents identified in the FAA letter were identified by the carrier’s own safety programme, which included weekly meetings with the FAA. Envoy Air regularly shared data with the regulator regarding pilot errors “to enhance the overall safety of our airline and the industry, and will continue to do so,” the spokesperson said. ALPA, in a statement, said: “The airline piloting profession in North America is one of the most highly scrutinised careers, and airline pilots’ professionalism has contributed to making air transportation the safest form of transport for passengers and air cargo shippers”. Envoy Air operates a fleet of ninety-eight E175s, fifty-seven EMB-145LRs, and seven EMB-140LRs from its bases at Chicago O’Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami Int’l, New York JFK, and New York La Guardia, according to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module.