FAA proposes penalty against Cleveland for failing on ice and snow removal requirements

The FAA is proposing $735,000 civil penalty against the City of Cleveland for failing to meet safe airport snow and ice removal requirements on runways and taxiways at Hopkins International airport (CLE) over a 15-month period that ended March 2015.

The agency cites two incidents on Dec. 30, 2013, when two commercial aircraft became disabled on taxiways because of unsafe braking conditions. Freezing rain and drizzle had been falling for more than two hours when the airport allegedly dismissed its maintenance staff at 11 p.m., leaving no airport personnel to operate snow-removal and de-icing equipment the next morning. Federal regulations require that commercial service airports be sufficiently staffed with enough qualified personnel to carry out their snow and ice control plans during severe weather.

Further, under an updated snow policy created in conjunction with the agency’s initial investigation into the incident, CLE airport management failed, on 19 separate days between January 5 and March 1, 2015, to adequately staff for snow and ice removal, according to the agency. The city has 30 days from receipt of the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond.