FAA orders airlines to remove unsafe seats
The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to take some smaller jets out of service to remove seats following discovery of a potential safety issue.
It relates to the ‘Slim’ or ‘Slim plus’ seats manufactured by Zodiac Seats California LLC, which do not protect passengers sufficiently during an impact.
It says there is a real possibility of neck injuries.
"The intent of this (airworthiness directive) is to provide a safe outcome for passengers during a survivable crash by preventing serious injuries," the FAA said.
These seats are typically found on smaller regional jets including Boeing’s 717-200 and MD-90-30 aircraft, Bombardier and Embraer jets.
SkyWest Airlines has complained that it will cost up to $500,000 to replace the seats on each of its 120 planes affected by the directive.
The FAA put down the cost of removing the seats to less than $1 million in total – but this did not include the cost of replacement seats.
"Calculating these numbers would make the part cost in the millions just for our fleet," said Daniel Burkhard, SkyWest’s engineering manager for compliance.
SkyWest joined Delta Air Lines and the seat manufacturer in asking for time to explore a potential modification of the seats rather than removing them altogether, but the FAA refused to delay its directive.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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