The United States (US) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a steep fine of US$147,000 on Spirit Air over a violation of the US Department of Transport’s Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations.

The airline has been accused of improperly handling packages containing compressed oxygen containers. According to the FAA investigation, Spirit employees offered five separate shipments containing compressed oxygen cylinders to FedEx for transportation from Detroit to New York in August and September 2022.

FedEx rejected one of the shipments of these cylinders after a Detroit-based employee discovered the packaging was in a damaged box that was improperly marked and labelled that did not meet the regulatory Flame Penetration Resistance Test requirements.

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The Spirit Airline employees who were involved in the handling of the shipments were also found to have not completed the required hazardous materials training and did not possess the required certificates for dangerous goods handling.

The regulations around the mishandling of dangerous goods came after the ValueJet Flight 561 tragedy in 1996, which was caused by a cargo hold fire due to the improper packaging and labelling of oxygen generators. Because the goods were highly flammable, the fire quickly spread through the hold to the cabin and the aircraft crashed into the Florida Everglades ten minutes after takeoff, killing everyone on board.

After an investigation into the incident, the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) found that five packages labelled “oxy cannisters – empty” were on board but the oxygen generators actually contained some gas inside and hadn’t been secured safely.

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The NTSB stated that “one or more of the oxygen generators likely were actuated at some point after the loading process began but possible as late as during the airplane’s takeoff roll.”

Over 261,000 tonnes of regulated dangerous goods are moved by air in the US each year, according to the FAA, with strict safety measures imposed to protect crew and passengers.

Hazardous goods must be moved in containers designed to withstand the conditions that might occur mid-flight, with detailed paperwork, including notices and emergency response information.

While dangerous goods can be moved on passenger aircraft, commercial pilots can refuse the cargo if they feel it poses a risk to their flight. However, to make this decision, they rely on the documentation and packaging to be accurate and secure.

Spirit Airlines has 30 days to respond to the FAA allegations. This comes as the airline explores its options after a proposed US$3.8 billion merger with JetBlue Airways was blocked by a US judge.

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