RECEIVED 

BEFORE THE MAY- 2 2016 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HEARING 

OFFICE OF HEARINGS DOCKET 

In the matter of 

DELTA AIRLINES, INC. 

Respondent 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

ANSWER 

Docket No. FAA-2014-0814 

FAA Case No. 2014S0670010 

Administrative Law Judge 

J .E. Sullivan 

Pursuant to Judge Sullivan's Order Denying Respondent's Motion to Dismiss for 

Insufficiency of Pleadings, served April19, 2016, and Rules 209 and 218(f)(l) of the 

Rules of Practice (14 C.P.R. §§ 13.209 and 13.218(1)(1)), Respondent Delta Air Lines, 

Inc. ("Delta") hereby answers the Complaint filed by the Federal Aviation Administration 

("FAA") in the above-captioned matter as follows: 

I. 

1. Delta admits that it was advised through a Final Notice of Proposed Civil 

Penalty, dated September 30, 2014, that the FAA proposed to assess a civil penalty 

against it in the amount of$14,375. Delta further admits that, on October 15, 2014, it 

filed a written request for a hearing and served a copy of the request for a hearing on the 

Agency Attorney in this matter. 

II. 

2. Delta admits the allegations of paragraph 2 of section II of the Complaint. 

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3. Delta admits the allegations of paragraph 3 of section II of the Complaint 

and specifically admits that, on December 2, 2013, it operated Flight 402 from John F. 

Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR). 

4. Delta admits that, on December 2, 2013, FAA Aviation Safety Inspector 

Peter Garb erg presented his FAA 11 OA credential to a Delta gate agent for purposes of 

conducting an inspection on the flight but denies the implication that Inspector Garberg's 

reservation to travel in the jump seat was for the Flight 402 operated on December 2, 

2013. The Inspector's jump seat reservation was for the Flight 402 to be operated by 

Delta the following day, on December 3, 2013. Delta also admits that, on December 2, 

2013, FAA Aviation Safety Inspector Garberg presented his FAA !lOA credential to at 

least one member of the flight crew of Flight 402, but Delta is without sufficient 

information at this time to admit or deny whether Inspector Garberg presented his FAA 

!lOA credential to the Pilot-in-Command of Flight 402 

5. Delta admits that Inspector Gar berg was initially given access to the 

aircraft and to the pilot's compartment of the aircraft. 

6. Delta admits that, immediately prior to departure of Flight 402 on 

December 2, 2013, Delta ground personnel boarded the aircraft and told Inspector Garber 

that he could not go on the flight, but denies the implication that the Inspector had 

properly completed the jump seat reservation procedure for Flight 402 to be operated on 

December 2, 2013, since his reservation to travel in the jump seat was for Flight 402 to 

be operated the next day, on December 3, 2013. Delta states that, after its ground 

personnel advised Inspector Garberg of the incorrect jump seat reservation date, the Pilotin-Command expressly offered to intervene in a way that would have allowed Inspector 

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Garberg to occupy the jump seat on Flight 402 operated on December 2, 2013. Inspector 

Garberg declined the offer of the Pilot-in-Command and voluntarily chose to deplane 

instead. 

7. Delta admits that Inspector Gar berg deplaned the aircraft, which he did 

voluntarily after declining the offer of the Pilot-in-Command to intervene in a way that 

would have allowed Inspector Garberg to occupy the jump seat on Flight 402 operated on 

December 2, 2013. Delta is without sufficient information to admit or deny what 

Inspector Garberg's motivation was for declining the offer of the Delta Pilot-inCommand and deplaning the flight. 

8. Delta denies that Inspector Garberg spoke to Delta ground personnel about 

being given access to two later flights from JFK to LHR that day (December 2, 2013) and 

denies that Inspector Garberg was told that he would not be permitted to board or conduct 

an inspection on either of those flights as the FAA alleges in paragraph 8 of section II of 

the Complaint. Delta further denies the implication that Delta had more than one Deltaoperated JFK-LHR flight on December 2, 2013, that was scheduled to operate after the 

departure of Flight 402. 

III. 

Delta denies the allegation in the first paragraph of section III of the Complaint 

that it violated section 121.548 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 C.P.R.§ 

121.548), including the allegation that it did not give the Inspector "free and 

uninterrupted" access to the pilot's compartment of the aircraft operating as Flight 402 on 

December 2, 2013. 

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Delta admits that the statute cited in the second paragraph of section III of the 

Complaint authorizes the assessment of civil penalties, but denies the implication that it 

violated section 121.548 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Therefore, Delta denies 

that it is subject to any civil penalties in this case. 

Delta denies the allegations of the third paragraph of section III of the Complaint. 

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES 

1. The Complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. 

2. Delta did not fail to provide "free and uninterrupted" access to the pilot's 

compartment either with regard to Flight 402 operated on December 2, 2013, or any other 

Delta operated flight from JFK to LHR on December 2, 2013. Before Delta could have 

honored the Inspector's request for jump seat access on Flight 402 conducted on 

December 2, 2013, the standard protocol would have been for the Inspector to make a 

reservation for the jump seat, consistent with the terms ofF AA Orders 8000.75B and 

8900.1. This procedure is necessary for Delta to be compliant with passenger 

manifesting and weight-and-balance program requirements. The FAA Inspector reserved 

or caused to be reserved the jump seat for Flight 402 on December 3, 2013--not for Flight 

402 on December 2, 2013, for which he appeared at JFK. Even though the Inspector did 

not reserve the jump seat for December 2, 2013, the Pilot-in-Command did not refuse 

him the jump seat and offered to intervene to assist the Inspector such that he could have 

conducted the en route inspection of Flight 402 on December 2, 2013. The Inspector 

stated that he voluntarily deplaned the aircraft operating as Flight 402 on December 2, 

2013, to avoid any delay in the departure of Flight 402. For this and for whatever other 

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reasons, known only to the Inspector, he chose to remove himself from the aircraft. The 

Inspector did not deplane the aircraft under an order from the Pilot-in-Command to do so. 

RELIEF REQUESTED 

Delta respectfully requests that the Complaint be dismissed with prejudice. 

PLACE OF HEARING 

Delta notes that Judge Richard Goodwin has previously ordered the venue of the 

hearing to be Atlanta, Georgia. See Procedmal Order, served November 24, 2014. This 

location for the hearing is acceptable to Respondent. Respondent objects to the location 

ofthe hearing being in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area as requested by Agency counsel. 

Respectfully submitted, 

/k-lft:;!itt~ Jon-Peter F. Kelly ;?" 

Assistant General Counsel 

Dated: April 29, 2016 

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I hereby certify that on this 29th day of April2016, I caused the foregoing Answer of 

Delta Air Lines, Inc. to be served upon the following: 

Federal Aviation Administration 

600 Independence Avenue, S.W. 

Wilbur Wright Building 

Suite 2Wl000 

Washington, D.C. 20591 

(Attention: Hearing Docket Clerk, AGC-430) 

Tel: (202) 267-0377 

(original and one copy by UPS) 

The Hon. J.E. Sullivan 

Administrative Law Judge 

Office of Hearings, M-20 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. (EII-310) 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

Tel: (202) 366-2132 

Fax: (202) 366-7536 

(one copy by UPS) 

Christopher R. Stevenson, Attorney 

Office of the Regional Counsel, AS0-7 

Southern Region 

Federal Aviation Administration 

1701 Columbia Avenue 

College Park, GA 30337 

Tel: (404) 305-5200 

Fax: ( 404) 305-5223 

(one copy by UPS) 

Jon-Peter F. Kelly 

Assistant General Counsel 

Delta Air Lines, Inc. -Dept. 981 

1030 Delta Boulevard 

Atlanta, GA 30354-1989