The House Transportation Committee accused the Federal Aviation Administration this spring of being too cozy with industry. But FAA seems in a fighting mood when it comes to assessing fines. The Washington Post’s Joan Lowy reports that the aviation agency has fined American Airlines $7.1 million for flying a mid-sized airliner after they knew about problems in the autopilot system. American says the fine is excessive and will contest it.

It’s the second biggest fine in the agency’s history. The biggest is when the FAA docked Southwest earlier this year $10.2 million for also knowingly flying unrepaired aircraft. The final terms of that penalty is still being negotiated. Time will tell whether FAA’s regulation through big fines scares airlines straight or is (sorry) a flight of fancy.-MB

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