The regional airline American Eagle Airlines was hit with a $2.475 million fine yesterday by the Federal Aviation Administration for improperly calculating the weight of the baggage.
The FAA alleges that between January and October 2008, American Eagle conducted at least 154 passenger-carrying flights when the baggage weight listed on airplane cargo load sheets disagreed with data entered into the company’s Electronic Weight and Balance System.
Now this may not sound like a big deal, figuring out how much all of the bags weigh, but it kind of is. See, before every flight, a pilot needs to add up all the weight on a flight, make sure the weight is properly distributed throughout the plane so the plane can take off and land. Too much weight in the back, the plane will have trouble landing, too much up front, it can’t take off, over the limit? Well, it can’t fly.
For bigger planes, it’s usually not a problem, because these jets are so powerful — however, the smaller the plane the more sensitive it becomes to weight.
“The traveling public has to be confident that airlines are following important safety rules,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “When they are not operating to the highest levels of safety, they are subject to stiff fines.”
