CBS News
FAA considers temporary action against United following series of flight mishaps, sources say
The Federal Aviation Administration is weighing possible temporary action against United Airlines beyond what was described in a letter the company sent to employees Friday, two sources familiar tell CBS News.
This comes in response to a series of concerning incidents involving United aircraft over the last month that included a wheel coming off a Boeing 777, and a panel flying off an aging Boeing 737.
Among the possible temporary measures discussed include barring United from launching new routes that it has not yet begun selling tickets for. Another being considered would be to allow the carrier to continue taking possession of new aircraft — but pausing its ability to introduce the new planes into revenue service, which refers to commercial flights that carry paying passengers.
A third possibility would be temporarily not allowing United check airmen to certify new captains. Airlines typically do those sign-offs internally.
Sources stress that discussions inside the FAA may not result in action, so some or all of these measures may not come to bare at all. United says it has not been notified of a final decision by the FAA, and those internal FAA discussions may be ongoing.
The FAA declined to directly comment on its deliberations saying in a statement that “the FAA’s safety assurance system routinely monitors all aspects of an airline’s operation. It focuses on an airline’s compliance with applicable regulations; ability to identify hazards, assess and mitigate risk; and effectively manage safety.”
In an interview with NBC News this week, FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker acknowledged that he spoke last weekend to United CEO Scott Kirby about the recent incidents.
“I know that they’re taking some heightened measures, and looking at these issues,” Whitaker told NBC News. “We’re going to look at each one of these incidents and see if we see a pattern…He’s concerned, I’m concerned, no one likes to see this spike of incidents. So we’re both doing our jobs to look at where those risks might be at.”
In a Friday letter to employees, Sasha Johnson, United vice president of corporate safety, seemed to acknowledge some temporary action was coming.
“Over the next several weeks, we will begin to see more of an FAA presence in our operation as they begin to review some of our work processes, manuals and facilities,” Johnson wrote. “As part of this effort, the FAA will also pause a variety of certification activities for a period of time. Those activities will differ depending on the work group and we will learn more from the FAA about that soon.”
The FAA’s potential temporary action was first reported by Bloomberg.
“Safety is our highest priority and is at the center of everything we do,” wrote Kirby in a letter to customers sent March 18. “Our team is reviewing the details of each case to understand what happened and using those insights to inform our safety training and procedures across all employee groups.”
United has aggressive growth plans, which includes hundreds of new planes on order, and has been rapidly growing its international route map. Earlier this month, United announced plans to launch service to Marrakesh, Morocco, Cebu, Philippines, and Medellin, Colombia.
In that same March 7th announcement, the airline said it plans to increase flying to Hong Kong, Seoul, South Korea, Porto, Portugal, and Shanghai, China.
Pausing route expansion and introducing new aircraft has the potential to have a significant impact on United’s bottom line already impacted by ongoing delivery delays from Boeing.
Sources at the airline were unable to say when that “pause” would begin, or what precisely would be paused.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
A food company known for popular grocery store condiments has recalled a package of tortilla strips that may be contaminated with wheat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The product is meant to be gluten-free.
Sugar Foods, a manufacturing and distribution corporation focused mainly on various toppings, artificial sweeteners and snacks, issued the recall for the “Santa Fe Style” version of tortilla strips sold by the brand Fresh Gourmet.
“People who have a wheat allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product,” said Sugar Foods in an announcement posted by the FDA.
Packages of these tortilla strips with an expiration date as late as June 20, 2025, could contain undeclared wheat, meaning the allergen is not listed as an ingredient on the label. The Fresh Gourmet product is marketed as gluten-free.
Sugar Foods said a customer informed the company on Nov. 19 that packages of the tortilla strips actually contained crispy onions, another Fresh Gourmet product normally sold in a similar container. The brand’s crispy onion product does contain wheat, and that allergen is noted on the label.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
No illnesses tied to the packaging mistake have been reported, according to the announcement from Sugar Foods. However, the company is still recalling the tortilla strips as a precaution. The contamination issue may have affected products distributed between Sept. 30 and Nov. 11 in 22 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
Sugar Foods has advised anyone with questions about the recall to contact the company’s consumer care department by email or phone.
CBS News reached out to Sugar Foods for more information but did not receive an immediate reply.
This is the latest in a series of food product recalls affected because of contamination issues, although the others involved harmful bacteria. Some recent, high-profile incidents include an E. coli outbreak from organic carrots that killed at least one person in California, and a listeria outbreak that left an infant dead in California and nine people hospitalized across four different states, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The E. coli outbreak is linked to multiple different food brands while the listeria outbreak stemmed from a line of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold by Yu-Shang Foods.