CNF Inc., Palo Alto, Calif., has suspended air carrier operations at its Emery Worldwide Airlines unit in response to concerns from the Federal Aviation Administration about aircraft maintenance.

According to published reports, the FAA had found so many maintenance problems that it was going to ground the Emery fleet if the company did not do so voluntarily.
The Washington Post reported that the agency had conducted four major inspections of the airline over the last 18 months and had found numerous discrepancies such as improper repairs, unapproved parts being installed, operation of non-airworthy aircraft, failure to follow procedures in company manuals and poor recordkeeping.
Even pilots complained that mechanical problems they reported were not being fixed by Emery's third-party maintenance contractors, according to the Post.
The National Transportation Safety Board was scheduled to hold a hearing this week on Emery's maintenance practices in relation to a February 2000 crash near Sacramento that killed three people.
Emery Worldwide air freight company, which is separate from the airline, will continue operations on a full-scale global basis. Emery has made arrangements to serve customers in North America using other air freight carriers, among others, a fleet of aircraft operated by Ryan Aviation of Wichita, Kansas.
Emery Worldwide airfreight operates a network of service centers in North America and has operations in more than 200 countries. The airfreight company operates a hub in Dayton, Ohio to sort freight. That facility remains fully operational.
CNF is a $5.3 billion company of global supply chain services with businesses in regional trucking, airfreight, ocean freight, customs brokerage, global logistics management and trailer manufacturing, including the Con-Way family of trucking companies.