Summary
- The FAA nears completion of United Airlines safety review after the airline experienced a series of incidents.
- Restrictions have delayed international service but not new aircraft deliveries.
- Another airline under review due to a series of incidents occurring is Southwest Airlines.
The FAA states that it is nearing the completion of the safety review it launched on United Airlines several months ago due to a series of incidents occurring in a short period of time. The review is to ensure the airline is complying with all the safety requirements and until the review is over, the airline has had some restrictions placed on them.
United under review
Chicago-based 
United Airlines
has been under review by the US Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) since March this year due to a series of safety incidents occurring within a short period of time. The carrier was placed under review to ensure that all safety standards were met and protocols complied with. As reported by Reuters, the FAA administrator has stated that the review will be completed soon.
During this period, the carrier has been subject to some restrictions, which is why it had to delay the commencement of two international services. The airline required some certifications from the FAA, which have been paused since the safety review began.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
The carrier is, however, allowed to take delivery of new aircraft to replace its older ones, provided a member of the FAA is present at the delivery when the airline conducts the final inspections on the new aircraft. Despite this, the carrier has delayed the delivery of nine new Boeing 737 MAX 9
aircraft.
While this will not impact the capacity available to the carrier, it will increase the airline’s operating costs as United will be forced to continue using their older aircraft for a bit longer.
A series of incidents
The airline was placed on safety review after United experienced a series of safety-related incidents on various aircraft types within its fleet. While some were relatively less serious, such as a hydraulic system failure on an Airbus A320, other incidents that were more serious included rudder pedals being stuck on a Boeing 737 MAX 8 and even a mid-flight panel loss on a Boeing 737-800.
Photo: Wenjie Zheng | Shutterstock
Perhaps the most headline-grabbing incidents were the runway excursion of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport
(IAH) and the three separate tire loss incidents during a United Airlines aircraft taking off.
- United Airlines Boeing 777 lost its tire on takeoff from SFO
- United Airlines Boeing 757 lost its tire on takeoff from LAX
- United Airlines Boeing 737 lost its tire on takeoff from DEN
Not the only carrier under review
While the FAA has been reviewing United Airlines for six months now, a few months ago, the agency also put the American carrier, Southwest Airlines
, under safety review after the carrier experienced a string of safety incidents. As with United Airlines, the review is to ensure Southwest is complying with all the safety requirements in its operations.
From departing from a closed runway to flying at dangerously low altitudes on several occasions, the FAA, along with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), has been involved in various Southwest-related incident investigations recently.
Photo: Dorengo5 | Shutterstock
Despite various safety incidents occurring with different airlines, the fact that there were no serious injuries or casualties in any of these incidents proves that aviation is indeed the safest mode of transportation. This is because of a series of technological advancements and regulations in place, but also, in several cases, just pilot and crew skills.