$65K Penalty Proposed for Flight Options Hazmat Violation

The FAA is seeking a $65,000 civil penalty from fractional-share operator Flight Options for shipping a package that leaked a hazardous material. According to the agency, Flight Options offered "a fiberboard box containing isopropyl alcohol, a flammable liquid, to UPS for transportation by air from Cleveland to Las Vegas, Sept. 9, 2009." The package leaked, and UPS employees discovered the leakage at the company's Louisville, Ky. sorting hub. Flight Options confirmed to AIN that last year, a vendor shipped to Flight Options a small sealed repair kit containing leather dye and an eight-ounce container of isopropyl alcohol to fix a seat on one of its airplanes. According to Flight Options, "The dye and alcohol are perfectly legal to ship but since the alcohol is a regulated commodity, it required appropriate hazardous material labeling. Since the kit was sealed, and we were not aware of the fact that it included the rubbing alcohol, we did not label the package appropriately when it was subsequently shipped to one of our maintenance facilities." Flight Options and the vendor have developed processes to prevent a recurrence.