ATLANTA, April 1 (UPI) -- Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a regional carrier for U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines Inc., said it grounded 60 jets Wednesday after an internal inspection audit.
The airline operates 112 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200 jets, meaning it will keep 40 percent of its fleet on the ground, while it conducts new inspections, Fox 5 News in Atlanta reported.
Company spokeswoman Kate Modolo said the inspections could take up to 42 hours to complete. Later, she said the company hoped to have the inspection process done by 8 p.m., EDT Thursday.
Modolo said the problem, which the company reported to the Federal Aviation Administration, involved following the manufacturer's engine inspection guidelines.
The airline did not say how many scheduled flights would be affected. Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton said Delta and its other regional carriers would attempt to accommodate as many passengers as possible.
ASA currently operates out of 110 airports in the United States, Canada and the Bahamas.
