FedEx Casts Away Air Safety for Profits

John Craig

New Member
FedEx Casts Away Air Safety for Profits

PR Newswire (U.S.), Wednesday, 11 December 2013, 16:11 GMT, 438 Words, Copyright © 2013 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Abrolat Law pc pursues safety violation allegations against FedEx

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently found FedEx Express (FedEx), the world's largest airline in terms of freight tons flown and the world's fourth largest airline in terms of fleet size, in violation of federal safety requirements. FedEx's fleet is primarily made-up of retired jetliners purchased at discount prices. The average FedEx jetliner is 20 to 40 years old. These older aircraft require significant ongoing work to ensure flightworthiness, and FedEx loses massive amounts in profit each day that one of its jetliners is on the ground for repair and maintenance.

Several Technicians from FedEx's Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) location have filed complaints with the FAA alleging that FedEx does not repair and maintain its aircraft consistent with FAA safety requirements.

These Technicians allege that FedEx knowingly falsified repair and maintenance records documenting work that was never actually performed and allowed jetliners to return to flight without necessary safety repairs and maintenance. The Technicians also contend that FedEx's safety violations resulted in FedEx aircraft flying across the United States with corrosion so extensive, that there were visible external cracks in the fuselage.

The FAA's investigation of the Technicians' complaints confirmed that FedEx has committed safety violations. Current FedEx employees contend that despite these FAA findings, FedEx has not changed its repair and maintenance practices and continues to place FedEx employees and the public at risk.

In a whistle-blower, wrongful termination lawsuit against FedEx filed this summer in Los Angeles Superior Court (Case No. BC512638), a former Technician at FedEx's LAX location, Brian Gruzalski, alleges that he repeatedly complained to FedEx about its practice of violating safety regulations. Gruzalski commented, "FedEx has been trying to cut corners to increase profits by simply not doing the required safety maintenance on very old planes." Gruzalski also claims that while employed, he observed FedEx impose unreasonable time limits on safety maintenance work: "It should be understood that maintenance on old, worn-out jetliners is going to take longer to properly repair than new planes."

According to the lawsuit, which is being pursued by Gruzalski and Abrolat Law to stop these practices, FedEx has retaliated against experienced, senior Technicians who complain about the safety violations, and ultimately fired Gruzalski due to his complaints.

Anyone with information relevant to our investigation is encouraged to call: 866-884-4228

Contact: Nancy Abrolat, Esq.

310-615-000
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
FedEx Casts Away Air Safety for Profits

PR Newswire (U.S.), Wednesday, 11 December 2013, 16:11 GMT, 438 Words, Copyright © 2013 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Abrolat Law pc pursues safety violation allegations against FedEx

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently found FedEx Express (FedEx), the world's largest airline in terms of freight tons flown and the world's fourth largest airline in terms of fleet size, in violation of federal safety requirements. FedEx's fleet is primarily made-up of retired jetliners purchased at discount prices. The average FedEx jetliner is 20 to 40 years old. These older aircraft require significant ongoing work to ensure flightworthiness, and FedEx loses massive amounts in profit each day that one of its jetliners is on the ground for repair and maintenance.

Several Technicians from FedEx's Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) location have filed complaints with the FAA alleging that FedEx does not repair and maintain its aircraft consistent with FAA safety requirements.

These Technicians allege that FedEx knowingly falsified repair and maintenance records documenting work that was never actually performed and allowed jetliners to return to flight without necessary safety repairs and maintenance. The Technicians also contend that FedEx's safety violations resulted in FedEx aircraft flying across the United States with corrosion so extensive, that there were visible external cracks in the fuselage.

The FAA's investigation of the Technicians' complaints confirmed that FedEx has committed safety violations. Current FedEx employees contend that despite these FAA findings, FedEx has not changed its repair and maintenance practices and continues to place FedEx employees and the public at risk.

In a whistle-blower, wrongful termination lawsuit against FedEx filed this summer in Los Angeles Superior Court (Case No. BC512638), a former Technician at FedEx's LAX location, Brian Gruzalski, alleges that he repeatedly complained to FedEx about its practice of violating safety regulations. Gruzalski commented, "FedEx has been trying to cut corners to increase profits by simply not doing the required safety maintenance on very old planes." Gruzalski also claims that while employed, he observed FedEx impose unreasonable time limits on safety maintenance work: "It should be understood that maintenance on old, worn-out jetliners is going to take longer to properly repair than new planes."

According to the lawsuit, which is being pursued by Gruzalski and Abrolat Law to stop these practices, FedEx has retaliated against experienced, senior Technicians who complain about the safety violations, and ultimately fired Gruzalski due to his complaints.

Anyone with information relevant to our investigation is encouraged to call: 866-884-4228

Contact: Nancy Abrolat, Esq.

310-615-000


Absolutely, positively, delicious. If this is real, and not some ploy by the mechanics, then ALPA and the FAA will be all over it. Fred will need to make some calls to the right people to make it go away.
 

Route 66

Slapped Upside-da-Head Member
I'm shocked at these allegations...completely and totally shocked. It's just SO unlike FedEx to do anything underhanded
 

hypo hanna

Well-Known Member
Now lets settle out of court and of course admit no wrongdoing.

I wonder what got him fired, The whistle lowing or being a senior employee?
 

FUFred

Well-Known Member
I love it. Even though I have my dream job now (different company, Fedex fired me too) I love it when stuff like this comes out.
 

cancan

Well-Known Member
It is really interesting to see how the tapestry of corporate greed is weaving itself together. As front line employees all we see is our little piece. FedEx used to have one of the top maintenance programs in the industry. They really are gutting the company to inflate the stock price. I really did think it was just us they were squeezing.

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Operational needs

Virescit Vulnere Virtus
I remember Andy Rooney doing a story on FedEx airplane safety many years ago. He was saying that he would rather fly fedex than any other airline.
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
Absolutely, positively, delicious. If this is real, and not some ploy by the mechanics, then ALPA and the FAA will be all over it. Fred will need to make some calls to the right people to make it go away.
It is really interesting to see how the tapestry of corporate greed is weaving itself together. As front line employees all we see is our little piece. FedEx used to have one of the top maintenance programs in the industry. They really are gutting the company to inflate the stock price. I really did think it was just us they were squeezing.

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While this could just be a ploy for an fired employee to get some money, it doesn't sound that way. The FAA confirmed the allegations, at least according to the story, so FedEx is cutting corners on aircraft maintenance too. I agree that it's all starting to come together for an implosion as the new FedEx keeps failing. If I were the pilots, I'd threaten a work stoppage to ensure safety is a top priority. A walkout right now would send a very clear message.
 

cancan

Well-Known Member
It very well could be a ploy. I worked for an aircraft maintenance company for a while on my hiatus from FedEx. All the mechanics were contractors and would pencil whip the maintenance cards and bounce out of town after getting paid. A Fedex quality manager realized this and pulled two of their lines. I also have a vendor for FedEx I deliver to and they were shut blackballed by a Fedex maintenance inspector because their parts were not being serviced to FedEx standards although they met FAA standards. All this was about 5 years ago. It could be that Fedex has recently made the changes for provability over safety. But I will say it takes a few years of constant running to get planes as corroded as they say. All this to mean I just don't know. I was recently looking at a Fedex mechanics blog post and there have been some serious dangerous changes to our maintenance programs recently but that doesn't explain years of corrosion. Most airline passengers don't realize that FAA standards aren't really that high anyways. On "legacy" planes as long as you mark corrosion with a yellow dot you can fly that puppy a million hours until its next check when they just add more yellow dots.

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