FAA ends safety probe into United Airlines, finds no major issues

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that its safety investigation into United Airlines concluded without finding any significant flaws at the airline.
“The FAA finished its Certificate Holder Evaluation Program (CHEP) of United Airlines. The review did not identify any significant safety issues,” a statement from the agency said.
United had been under closer regulatory scrutiny since the spring following a string of safety-related incidents, including a stuck rudder in February that last week was the subject of urgent guidance from the National Transportation Safety Board. Another high-profile incident involved a plane losing a tire on takeoff from Los Angeles and damaging cars in a parking lot near the airfield.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby acknowledged the incidents in a March letter, and the company’s vice president for corporate safety revealed the FAA’s “increased presence” at the airline’s operations in a memo to employees just days later.
Some of the restrictions during the FAA’s probe could have included limiting the airline from adding new planes or routes, and the FAA said Wednesday it was ending its enhanced oversight and approval process for those actions as well.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at [email protected].