American Airlines regional subsidiary PSA Airlines on Thursday grounded “most of its fleet” to complete what it called on its Twitter feed “a standard inspection.” The grounding involves its 130 Bombardier CRJ700s and CRJ900s, all of which became the subject of an FAA order to inspect the airplanes’ nose gear doors.
An American Airlines spokesperson confirmed to AIN that PSA grounded the fleet “out of an abundance of caution.”
“We are working with PSA and the FAA to immediately address the issue,” said the airline. “We are working with our customers to arrange new accommodations on other flights and we are working to return the impacted aircraft to service.”
In a separate statement, the FAA told AIN that the airline removed “a number” of its Bombardier regional jets from service after discovering a maintenance item that required immediate attention. “The airline voluntarily disclosed the matter to the FAA, and the agency is working with the airline to address the situation,” said the statement. It did not specify the suspected problem with the nose gear doors.
Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, PSA operates as an American Eagle partner to more than 90 destinations from its hub in Charlotte and focus cities of Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.