Congressmen call on FAA to act against flight training school

Lantana, Fla.: A pair of South Florida congressmen are urging the Federal Aviation Administration to take immediate action against a flight school that has been involved in three fatal crashes since October.
U.S. Reps. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, and Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, said they wanted the FAA to prioritize its review of Kemper Aviation of Lantana.
Their call for action came a day after four people, including Kemper Aviation’s owner, were killed in a crash near West Palm Beach, and less than six months after two other fatal crashes involving Kemper-owned planes.
Eight people have died in the crashes.
“On its face, with all these accidents, common sense would tell you this company has some problems and something is wrong,” Klein said.
Wexler said the string of accidents sounded “preventable.”
The FAA is already scrutinizing Kemper’s maintenance records and operating procedures, and said there is no timeline for finishing its review.
“We can’t determine if any enforcement action is necessary until that inspection has been completed,” FAA spokesman Warren Woodberry said. He said the agency can impose penalties ranging from warnings and stiff fines to a complete shutdown of the flight school.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the crashes.
15/03/08 The Associated Press/Florida Times-Union, USA