The Federal Aviation Administration has issued $24.2 million in penalties against American Airlines for maintenance deficiencies on the carrier’s MD-80 jets.
Possible fines as high as $30 million were first reported last week.
American has long since corrected the issues discovered on the jets in 2008, but had previously operated over 15,000 flights with aircraft that the FAA said had potentially dangerous wiring problems. American maintains that the issues were minor and that passenger safety was never compromised.
Eastern Air Lines held the previous watermark for safety fines, having been penalized $9.5 million in 1987.