Air Resorts Allowed to Resume Flying

CARLSBAD —  Air Resorts, grounded Christmas Eve by federal authorities because of the Dec. 16 crash of one of its planes in Alabama, resumed operations Thursday after the Federal Aviation Administration gave it a “clean bill of health.”

Five of the airline’s six planes are “back in the air” shuttling Navy personnel between bases, according to an Air Resorts spokesman. No civilian charter flights were flown Thursday, but the company “expects to be back as soon as possible” serving civilians, he said.

The FAA gave Air Resorts a “clean bill of health” after an eight-day inspection, company President Ted Vallas said in a prepared statement.

San Diego FAA inspector Roy Billings would not comment on the agency’s investigation beyond saying that Air Resorts has “been returned to flying status.”

The FAA examined the airline’s operations, its maintenance manuals, the qualifications of its personnel, in-house inspection procedures, equipment and maintenance lists, monthly performance reports and flight and training records, according to Vallas. Regulators also conducted flame tests on seat covers and interior fabrics, he said.

The FAA did not issue any violations against Air Resorts, Vallas said.

However, authorities did recommend that the airline make some “minor changes,” such as tightening procedures for written tests of pilots and co-pilots, adding ground-crew classes for flight personnel and changing “minor housekeeping procedures,” Vallas said.

An Air Resorts Convair 440 plane crashed at a small airstrip near Jasper, Ala., on Dec. 16.

Among the 39 people aboard--none of whom was seriously injured--were members of the East Tennessee State basketball team.