FAA proposes fine against small charter airline

FAA proposes fine against small charter airline    The Federal Aviation Administration on Feb. 17 levied a proposed civil penalty of $585,725 against Corporate Air, a small cargo airline based in Billings, Mont.
   The agency charged the airline with failing to conduct post-flight inspections on a Shorts SD-3-30 twin turboprop cargo aircraft that include examining the exterior skin for corrosion.
   The FAA said the airline operated the aircraft in violation of regulations on at least 81 flights between Dec. 21, 2009 and Feb. 4, 2010, with corrosion that had not been detected. The FAA also alleged that structural inspections were not conducted at the required intervals over a four-year period beginning in March 2006.
   Corporate Air flies a feeder service for FedEx Express within the rural Mountain West and transports cargo for other customers.
   The plane involved in the violation does not fly for FedEx and is used to ferry cargo on the Hawaiian islands, Dale Nelson, the company's vice president of administration, said.
   Corporate Air is reviewing the charges and will respond within 30 days to the FAA's enforcement letter, he said. ' Eric Kulisch