The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that its safety investigation into United Airlines has been completed without finding any significant deficiencies at the airline.
“The FAA has completed its Certificate Holder Evaluation Program (CHEP) of United Airlines. The assessment revealed no significant safety concerns,” the agency said in a statement.
United had been under increased scrutiny since this spring after a series of safety-related incidents, including a stuck rudder in February that was the subject of urgent guidance from the National Transportation Safety Board last week. Another high-profile incident involved a plane losing a tire on takeoff from Los Angeles and damaging cars in a parking lot near the airport.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby acknowledged the incidents in a March letter, and the company’s vice president of corporate safety revealed the FAA’s “increased presence” in the airline’s operations just days later in a memo to the employees.
Some of the restrictions during the FAA’s investigation could have included restricting the airline from adding new aircraft or routes, and the FAA said Wednesday it was also ending its enhanced oversight and approval process for those actions.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at zwicher@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: FAA gives United Airlines safety seal as oversight program ends
