The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday proposed fining Black & Decker Corp. $318,000 for improperly shipping 106 battery-powered lawn mowers, nearly half of which short-circuited and burned while being transported by the air cargo division of United Parcel Service.
The FAA began disclosing hazardous material enforcement actions last year, spurred by criticism from the General Accounting Office for not informing the public of airline safety issues.
Those concerns were raised after a fatal 1996 Valujet crash that was attributed to improperly shipped oxygen generators, which caught fire in the cargo hold.
“The Black & Decker shipment had the potential of being very dangerous,” said a FAA spokeswoman. Black & Decker had no immediate comment.
