FAA Proposes Civil Penalty: Dean Baldwin Painting of Bulverde, TX

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration proposes a $240,000 civil penalty against Dean Baldwin Painting of Bulverde, Texas for numerous violations at its Goodyear, Ariz. facility.

The FAA alleges that Dean Baldwin’s Goodyear facility:

  • Performed scuff sanding maintenance on a Boeing 767 it was not authorized to perform and improperly diluted Alodine 1201 for use on the aircraft and failed to document its use.
    • Additionally, a company manager signed off that he performed maintenance that other technicians performed, and did not identify who actually did the work.
  • Performed an induction wash on three Airbus A319s that it was not authorized to perform; failed to properly document who performed the work; and failed to do required preliminary inspections of the aircraft when they arrived at the facility.
  • Did not have key personnel in place.
    • These included an inspector responsible for inspecting all materials sent to the company for repair or alteration, and a purchasing manager responsible for inventorying all components and materials and ensuring they match the purchase order, as well as ensuring all subcontracted aircraft related services, parts, and materials were purchased through eligible subcontractors.
  • Made revisions to its Repair Station Manual and Quality Control Manual without providing the FAA with information on those revisions.
  • Initially provided the FAA with a capabilities list for another one of its repair stations that contained capability listings inapplicable to the Goodyear facility.
    • When it provided the FAA a capabilities list for the Goodyear facility nearly a year later, it had not performed a required self-evaluation for articles on the list.
  • Did not maintain current rosters of supervisory, management, and inspection personnel, as well as personnel authorized to sign a maintenance release for approving a maintained or altered article for return to service.
  • Did not have employment summaries for the executive vice president of operations and the material manager and did not have current employment summaries for the lead painter and chief inspector.
  • Failed to record what was done to correct discrepancies on work performed on a Boeing 737.
  • Filled in a work card incorrectly stating that work done on a McDonnell Douglas MD-90 at the company’s Goodyear facility was done at its facility in Roswell, N.M.; did not complete a work order form for this work; and did not include an approval for return to service in the maintenance record.

FAA

Dean Baldwin Painting has 30 days from receiving the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the agency.