Filed: Mar. 25, 2004
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT _ No. 95-60509 Summary Calendar _ FLITELINE MAINTENANCE; EUGENE E. SHANKS; CARL RAMIREZ, Petitioners, versus DAVID R. HINSON, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, Respondent. _ Petition for Review of an Order of the Federal Aviation Administration (94-ANE-10) _ March 14, 1996 Before KING, SMITH, and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges. FORTUNATO P. BENAVIDES, Circuit Judge:* Petitioners Fliteline Maintenance, Eugene E. Shanks (Sh
Summary: IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT _ No. 95-60509 Summary Calendar _ FLITELINE MAINTENANCE; EUGENE E. SHANKS; CARL RAMIREZ, Petitioners, versus DAVID R. HINSON, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, Respondent. _ Petition for Review of an Order of the Federal Aviation Administration (94-ANE-10) _ March 14, 1996 Before KING, SMITH, and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges. FORTUNATO P. BENAVIDES, Circuit Judge:* Petitioners Fliteline Maintenance, Eugene E. Shanks (Sha..
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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
______________
No. 95-60509
Summary Calendar
______________
FLITELINE MAINTENANCE; EUGENE E. SHANKS; CARL RAMIREZ,
Petitioners,
versus
DAVID R. HINSON, Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration,
Respondent.
_________________________________________________________________
Petition for Review of an Order of the
Federal Aviation Administration
(94-ANE-10)
_________________________________________________________________
March 14, 1996
Before KING, SMITH, and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges.
FORTUNATO P. BENAVIDES, Circuit Judge:*
Petitioners Fliteline Maintenance, Eugene E. Shanks (Shanks),
and Carl Ramirez (Ramirez) petition for review of the final order
of the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") adopting a new
airworthiness directive ("AD") for turboprop and turboshaft engines
repaired, assembled, or modified by Petitioners. Finding
substantial evidence to support the FAA's ruling, we deny the
petition for review.
BACKGROUND
*
Pursuant to Local Rule 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in Local Rule 47.5.4.
On May 14, 1992 an Ayres S2R-600 aircraft with a modified
turboprop engine maintained by Fliteline Maintenance crashed during
takeoff, killing the pilot. After investigating the crash, the FAA
determined that the engine installed on the aircraft was neither
approved for installation on the aircraft nor properly installed on
the aircraft. The FAA then extended its investigation to other
aircraft engines repaired or maintained by Fliteline Maintenance
and Shanks.
The FAA's investigation revealed that: 1) Shanks, the owner of
Fliteline Maintenance, had falsified engine logbooks to show
compliance with other ADs; 2) Shanks had falsified records for
certain life-limited turbine components to show more useful life
than the components actually had remaining; 3) unapproved parts
were installed on the engines; 4) modifications had been performed
on the engines without approved data; and 5) records maintained by
Fliteline Maintenance on the engines it repaired, assembled, or
modified did not identify all of the suspect engine models and
serial numbers. The results of the investigation led to Shank's
criminal indictment. Shanks pled guilty to two counts of making
false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the FAA in
violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001.
On August 5, 1994, the FAA issued a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking to amend part 39 of the Federal Aviation Regulations to
include a new AD applicable to certain turboprop and turboshaft
engines manufactured by AlliedSignal. The proposed AD required
operators of these engines to perform a check of engine records to
2
determine if any repair, assembly, or modification work was
performed by Fliteline Maintenance, Shanks, or Ramirez. Any
engines determined to have been worked on by Fliteline Maintenance,
Shanks or Ramirez were then to be verified that the life-limited
components had not been in service longer that the time listed in
the engine maintenance records, and all affected parts were to be
inspected. The FAA suspected that at least 500 engines were worked
on by Petitioners.
The FAA received and considered numerous comments on the
proposed AD, including many submitted by Petitioners. On August 4,
1995 the FAA issued its Final Rule on the AD1, which incorporated
several of the suggestion made by the commentaries. Petitioners
subsequently filed a motion to stay the effective date of the AD,
which this Court denied. The AD became effective on September 5,
1995.
ANALYSIS
"Appellate review of an agency's decision is circumscribed.
We may consider only whether the agency's findings and conclusions
were 'arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise
not in accordance with the law' or 'unsupported by substantial
evidence.'" Miranda v. National Transportation Safety Board,
866
F.2d 805, 807 (5th Cir. 1989) (quoting 5 U.S.C. ยง 706(2)(A) and
(E)).
Petitioners contend that the FAA failed to develop any
credible evidence that would meet the substantial evidence standard
1
The final version of the AD is published in 60 FR 39842.
3
in this case. Specifically, they argue that the FAA's version of
the record is incomplete, avoids exculpatory material, and fails to
attribute a product failure to Petitioners.2 Petitioners further
argue that the basis for the AD was prompted by a flawed
investigation, resulting in a factually inadequate AD that
constitutes an improper response to a problem only involving
ordinary maintenance. Finally, Petitioners argue that the FAA
failed to follow the procedures of both the FAA and the
Administrative Procedures Act ("APA") by not taking into
consideration Petitioners' late-filed comments to the proposed AD,
and breached its settlement agreement with Fliteline Maintenance
and Shanks by issuing the AD.
Our review of the record indicates substantial evidence to
support the FAA's AD. The FAA's investigation revealed that an
unsafe condition existed in numerous AlliedSignal engines that were
repaired, modified, or assembled by Petitioners, requiring the FAA
to issue the AD in order to inspect, identify, and verify the
affected engine parts in certain turboprop and turboshaft engines.
This evidence overwhelmingly supports the issuance of the AD,
irrespective of whether or not the crash of the Ayres S2R-600
aircraft in 1992 can be attributed to the modifications made to
that particular engine by Petitioners.
In addition, we find that the AD was enacted to identify and
remedy improperly modified and maintained engines that posed a
2
Petitioners have filed a motion to supplement the certified
list and a motion for production of documents in this appeal.
4
direct air safety hazard constituting more than an ordinary
maintenance problem. Furthermore, we find that the FAA both
accepted and considered Petitioners' comments in compliance with
APA and FAA procedures prior to issuing the final version of the
AD, and that the AD was not issued in violation of Petitioners'
settlement agreement because nothing in the settlement agreement
limited the FAA's AD rulemaking authority in this matter.
CONCLUSION
Finding substantial evidence in the record to support the
FAA's ruling, the petition for review is DENIED. Furthermore,
Petitioners' motions to supplement the certified list and for
production of documents are DENIED.
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