Faa Ban On Expansion Preceded Valujet Crash

The Federal Aviation Administration placed a moratorium on ValuJet’s plans for expanded service five weeks before the discount airline announced a “voluntary hiatus from rapid growth” this spring.

In a Feb. 29 order, the FAA limited ValuJet to flying to the cities it then served with the aircraft that it had in operation at that time. Citing concerns about ValuJet’s maintenance, pay and scheduling policies, the notice said the action was necessary “to uphold the public’s interest in air transportation and air safety.”

ValuJet, while cooperative with FAA overseers, vigorously opposed parts of the restrictions, which prevent the airline from serving new cities or buying new equipment without FAA approval. The airline also asked if it could restrict its growth voluntarily, so it could avoid the publicity surrounding “the unnecessary and damaging sanctions” imposed by the agency.

The correspondence details a sequence of behind-the-scenes disagreements over such issues as pilot pay and ValuJet’s corporate culture in the weeks preceding the crash of ValuJet Flight 592 into the Florida Everglades.

The documents, obtained under the federal Freedom of Information Act, also reflect tougher enforcement by the FAA against ValuJet beginning in February. The new position came within a few weeks of internal criticism of the agency’s oversight from its Washington office and the inspector general’s office of the FAA’s parent agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation.