FAA must boost oversight to address Allegiant Air maintenance issues: Audit

The US FAA needs to improve its oversight to address maintenance issues at Allegiant Air, according to a report seen by Reuters Tuesday. The US DoT's Inspector General, in a 31-page report sent to Capitol Hill Tuesday but not yet made public, said FAA inspectors since 2011 have not "consistently documented risks associated with 36 Allegiant Air in-flight engine shutdowns for its MD-80 fleet or correctly assessed the root cause of maintenance issues." Allegiant said it had not yet see the report. The FAA said that it agreed with 8 of the 9 recommendations made by the inspector general and partially agreed with the remaining one. The inspector general opened the probe in May 2018 after a "series of in-flight engine shutdowns, aborted take-offs, and unscheduled landings". <br/>