American Airlines pilots' letter on Airbus grounding

About a dozen American Airlines pilots sent an e-mail to all other Airbus A300 pilots in the airline to demand grounding the plane. American has more than 400 Airbus pilots.

Fellow Airbus Pilots,

It has been over 7 weeks since Flight 587 went down killing all crewmembers, passengers and several people on the ground. As pilots we have all been patiently awaiting answers that would give us some insight into the causes of this tragedy.

To date we have been given no answers-not because we are purposely being kept in the dark-but because at this point there do not seem to be any answers. No agency, not the NTSB, Airbus Industries, NASA or American Airlines have been able to come up with possible reasons why the vertical stabilizer separated from the aircraft, other than failure of the composite material used. At this point, safety experts and our own safety and fleet people have agreed that no test exists to definitively check the structural integrity of the vertical stabilizers on our remaining 34 aircraft.

Certainly the one time visual inspection and tap test that was preformed is of little value when trying to determine the structural integrity of an extremely thick piece of composite.

This is unprecedented in modern aviation. In 1979 when an American Airlines DC-10 lost an engine departing ORD, the fleet was immediately grounded, until we were able to determine that engine pylon bolts were to blame. When the Alaska Airlines MD-80 went down off the coast of California, the elevator jackscrew was quickly determined to be at fault. In both of these instances clear-cut mechanical failures caused the crashes. The industry was able to check the offending parts on other aircraft and determine for certain if they were safe and serviceable. In 1996 when TWA Flight 800 went down off the coast of Long Island, the industry was quickly able to determine that an explosion was to blame. The cause was traced to frayed wiring in a fuel tank and the industry was able to check other aircraft for potential problems.

In the case of Flight 587, the only thing that circumstances suggest be checked *cannot be checked* - the technology simply isn't available to us.

Just this past weekend, US Air Force servicemen were refueling a C-141 when a wing spar broke. The Air Force immediately grounded the entire fleet of 99 aircraft. In this case the Air Force not only knows exactly what happened, but the technology is available to check for the problem on other aircraft; yet, in the name of safety, they still grounded the fleet. This begs the question: Why are American Airline's A-300's still flying when they are unsure whether the same structural failure that occurred on Nov. 12 will occur again?

In meetings in Boston, Miami and New York with A-300 pilots, AA fleet managers were forthright and honest with us: they said they are "50-50" on whether or not the fleet should be grounded. They expressed that if they "just had something to hang a hat on", they would recommend grounding our A-300 fleet. The fact that:

1) we had a wide-body aircraft depart controlled flight (due to loss of a major flight control surface) that resulted in the deaths of 265 people and;

2) we don't know why the vertical stabilizer came off and;

3) no sure-fire way exists to check the structural integrity of the vertical stabilizers on our 34 remaining A300's;

seems to be more than enough on which to "hang one's hat."

To be certain, grounding 34 widebody airliners is nothing to take lightly; our company will surely feel the loss of revenue; Airbus Industries has already hinted that such a recommendation by American would create international shock-waves that would likely reverberate beyond the aviation industry and involve top-level world leaders. Closer to home, our own interests regarding jobs and furloughs would be involved.

Although AA A-300 Fleet Supervisor Captain Young indicated that the company did have a plan if the A-300's were grounded that would allow them to fly almost the whole schedule with other aircraft (consequently needing more pilots on other aircraft), grounding 34 airplanes could cause either some additional furloughs or cause some of our pilots who are currently furloughed to be out longer. On the other side of the coin, whether our background is civilian or military, we know that safety is paramount. Financial issues, no matter how threatening, have no place in the world of airline safety.

If the long-term success of our company and the reputation of American Airlines is to be assured, safety must be our top priority. It is our place as the true last link in the safety chain to voice our concern when our managers make decisions that not only threaten the long-term health of the company, but quite literally the very lives of passengers and crew alike.

The question we should all ask ourselves is this:

Are we completely comfortable putting our friends and family on an A-300? If the answer to that question is not a resounding yes, then logic would lead a well-trained pilot to conclude that no one else should be flying on them either. What we are asking and advocating is not any type of job action. We would like each of you to evaluate your feelings on the issue of whether or not the fleet should be grounded until a definitive cause for this accident can be determined, along with ways to prevent a similar occurrence, and/or a definitive test can be developed to check the structural integrity of the vertical stabilizers of our remaining 34 A300's.

If you feel as we do that the fleet should be grounded, please reply to this message by cutting and pasting the following statement, along with your name, base, employee number and crew position back to this email address.

Your replies will be collected and forwarded to the Chief Pilots of BOS, LGA and MIA, the A300 Fleet Manager and Supervisor, Captain Kudwa and Mr. Arpey.

"Until a definitive cause for the crash of Flight 587 can be determined, along with ways to prevent a similar occurrence; and/or a definitive test can be developed to truly check the structural integrity of the vertical stabilizers of our remaining 34 A300's, I recommend that American Airlines' fleet of A300's be grounded."

It is time that our voices were collectively heard on these issues that threaten our company and our safety. Thank you for your time and consideration.