Skip to main content

Establishment profile

NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC

2602 WORLD GATEWAY, DETROIT, MI, 48242
481111Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation

Download as PDF →

OSHA inspections
34
over 37 years
Violations
248
$85,769 in penalties
SVEP
YES
Severe violator program
Violations across 2 federal agencies
Enforcement actions from multiple agencies may indicate systemic compliance issues across functions.
Accident investigations on record
1 fatality · 3 OSHA follow-ups

Summary

NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC has accumulated 248 OSHA violations across 34 inspections over 37 years of recorded history, with $85,769 in total assessed penalties.

The establishment sits in the 100th percentile for violations within its industry-state peer group of 27 employers. Inspection frequency runs at the 100th percentile. The most recent enforcement activity was recorded 19 years ago.

Federal records were found in 2 of 15 sources. Sources without matching records returned empty for this establishment.

Agency coverage

NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC appears in OSHA workplace safety, WHD wage enforcement, and UVA Corporate Prosecution Registry records only. No matching records were found in MSHA mine safety, EPA environmental compliance, NLRB labor relations, OFLC visa and labor certification (historical), FMCSA motor carrier registration, SAM.gov federal debarment, CMS nursing home enforcement, CPSC product recalls, or NHTSA vehicle recalls.

OSHA workplace safety

Inspections
34
0.9 / yr · last 37 yrs
Violations
248
6.7 / yr
Penalties
$85,769
$346 avg / violation
25% serious75% other
Inspection trigger · complaint
21 of 34
Inspection trigger · planned
5 of 34

74% of inspections at this establishment produced violations, with 17 inspections producing serious-or-greater violations.

Most-cited OSHA standards

Top OSHA standards cited at this employer, ranked by citation count. Standards (CFR sections) cluster citations into safety themes -- machine guarding, lockout-tagout, hazard communication, fall protection, process safety, etc. A concentration on one or two sections reveals a pattern that individual citations don’t. 20 distinct standards shown · 58 citations in this view · $33,978 in penalties.

CFR sectionCitationsInspectionsTotal penaltyFirst citedLast cited
29 CFR 4081.044301 A65$810Sep 1990Mar 2001
29 CFR 4080.1011 A42$4,670Aug 1991Jun 1995
29 CFR 4081.07270143$2,235Dec 1993Jan 2001
29 CFR 4081.06320544$180Sep 1990Sep 1999
29 CFR 4081.14420233$2,468Sep 1990Jul 1996
29 CFR 4081.07310133$2,100Sep 1990Jan 2001
29 CFR 4081.02200133$1,820Jun 1995Jan 2001
29 CFR 4081.0011 D33$1,350Dec 1993Jul 2002
29 CFR 4081.02150233$735Dec 1993Jan 2001
29 CFR 4081.21740132$630Sep 1990Dec 1993
29 CFR 4081.06850333May 1996Aug 2003
29 CFR 4081.06450233Dec 1993Jul 1996
29 CFR 4081.33120122$2,800Jun 1995Jan 2001
29 CFR 1910.0303 G02 I22$2,765Jul 1996Jan 2001
29 CFR 4081.58310122$2,125Nov 1995Jul 1996
29 CFR 4081.11150422$2,100Jul 1996Jan 2001
29 CFR 1910.1200 H22$1,990Aug 1991Jun 1995
29 CFR 4081.09640122$1,800Dec 1993Jul 2002
29 CFR 4081.06310122$1,800Jan 2001Jul 2002
29 CFR 4082.21110122$1,600Jan 2001Jul 2002

Source: OSHA inspection citations (violation_detail). CFR section codes can be looked up at osha.gov/laws-regs for the formal standard text. Per-inspection detail and the specific violation descriptions are available by expanding individual inspections below.

Peer comparison

100th

Worse on violations than nearly every other employer in NAICS 4811 within MI. Peer group: 27 employers. This establishment has 248 OSHA violations; peer median is 1.

Fewer violationsMore violations
Penalty percentile
100th
peer median: $0
Inspection frequency
100th
peer median: 1

Safety self-report (OSHA 300A)

No self-reported injury rates filed with OSHA's Injury Tracking Application for NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC. Verify directly with OSHA Injury Tracking Application

Industry benchmark

Industry avg TRIR
7.4
BLS SOII 2024
Industry avg DART
6.4
BLS SOII 2024
Self-reported TRIR
Not in OSHA ITA

BLS rates reflect industry-wide averages. Self-reported figures come from OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application; absence of self-reported data does not necessarily indicate non-compliance — many establishments fall below the ITA reporting threshold.

Inspection breakdown

Planned
5
Complaint
21
Accident
2
Referral
2

Complaint- and accident-triggered inspections are stronger risk signals than routine planned inspections.

OSHA severe injury reports

No severe injury reports (hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye) on file under 29 CFR 1904.39 for NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC. Verify directly with Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OSHA accident events

Accidents, fatalities, and catastrophes documented during OSHA inspections at this employer. Each entry links to the inspection that recorded it.

DateEventInjuriesHospitalizedFatalities
Nov 6, 1995FRACTURE,HEAD,HYDRAULIC LIFT,BOOM,STRUCK AGAINST,EQUIPMENT FAILURE,FALL,FALLING OBJECT,AERIAL LIFTFatality11

Source: OSHA accident investigations. Narratives are recorded by the inspecting officer and may be truncated.

Activity timeline

Data refreshed
Weekly
First OSHA inspection
Most recent activity
19 years ago

No federal enforcement activity has been recorded against this establishment in 19+ years. Most recent activity: 19 years ago. Data on this page is refreshed weekly.

Wage & Hour Division (WHD)

Cases
1
Back wages owed
$0
Employees affected
1

Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division — minimum-wage, overtime, child-labor, FMLA, and prevailing-wage enforcement.

Wage and hour breakdown by law

Per-statute totals across all closed DOL Wage & Hour cases against this employer. Backwages reflect amounts the agency assessed; civil penalty is the separate fine where applicable. Some acts (Davis-Bacon, SCA, CWHSSA, H-2B, CCPA) don't carry a civil penalty field in DOL's data. 1 statute · 1 violation · $0 in backwages

StatutePeriodCasesViolationsWorkersBackwagesCivil penalty
FMLA (family & medical leave)May 200511

Source: DOL WHD enforcement database, aggregated per statute. Lifetime totals. A case can cite multiple statutes — so the total here may exceed the case count in the table above.

Wage and hour cases

Closed DOL Wage & Hour Division cases (FLSA, FMLA, H-2B, MSPA, and related statutes). Backwages reflect amounts the agency assessed; civil penalty (CMP) is a separate fine levied on top, where the statute provides for one (FLSA / H-1B / H-2A / MSPA / FMLA / EPPA / FLSA Child Labor; other acts have no CMP column in DOL’s data). The Statutes column lists which laws each case cited. 1 case · 1 violations · $0 in backwages · 1 worker affected

Case periodIndustryStatutesViolationsWorkersBackwagesCivil penalty
Sep 2004 – May 2005Scheduled Air TransportationFMLA11

Source: DOL WHD enforcement database. Cases shown reflect those the agency has closed and made public. A violation count is the agency’s tally of cited violations (one violation can affect many workers); the workers column counts distinct employees the agency found to be affected.

Mine safety (MSHA)

No MSHA mine safety violations on file for NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC. Verify directly with Mine Safety and Health Administration

Labor relations (NLRB)

No NLRB unfair labor practice charges or union representation cases on file for NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC. Verify directly with National Labor Relations Board

Visa & labor certification (OFLC) — historical

No H-1B, H-2A, or H-2B labor condition applications on file (historical data only — DOL ended OFLC publication) for NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC. Verify directly with Office of Foreign Labor Certification

Environmental compliance (EPA)

No EPA inspections or formal enforcement actions on file for NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC. Verify directly with Environmental Protection Agency

EPA-registered facilities

Every EPA ECHO facility associated with this employer, sorted most-significant first. Each row links to EPA’s Detailed Facility Report for the source-of-truth record. Permits column lists active programs (Air = Clean Air Act, Water = Clean Water Act, RCRA = hazardous waste, TRI = Toxics Release Inventory reporting). 1 facility · 1 marked inactive.

FacilityPermitsStatusInspectionsFormal actionsPenaltiesLast inspectedECHO
NORTHWEST AIRLINES
DETROIT METRO AIRPORT 2500 WORLD GATEWAY P · DETROIT, MI, 48242
RCRANo Violation Identified00Jan 1995View →

Source: EPA ECHO (Enforcement and Compliance History Online). Compliance status follows EPA’s own labels (“Sig Violation” = significant noncompliance; QNCR = quarters of noncompliance over the recent reporting window). Inactive facilities (struck through) retain historical enforcement records even after operations ceased.

Federal criminal prosecution record

Prosecutions
1
Total payments
$38.0M
Disposition
Guilty Plea
Crime type
Antitrust

First case: 2010-08-30. Most recent: 2010-08-30. Source: UVA Corporate Prosecution Registry — federal pleas, DPAs, and NPAs.

Federal prosecution case file

Federal corporate prosecution records from the University of Virginia Corporate Prosecution Registry. DPA = Deferred Prosecution Agreement; NPA = Non-Prosecution Agreement; both are pre-trial settlements where the defendant accepts terms but avoids conviction. Monitor = court-appointed compliance oversight, usually 2-5 years. 1 case · 1 plea/conviction · $38,000,000 in penalties / restitution.

CaseDateDispositionCrimeJurisdictionTotal paymentMonitor
USA v. NORTHWEST AIRLINES LLC
Northwest Airlines, LLC · NWA
Aug 2010pleaAntitrustUSDOJ - Antitrust Division$38,000,000No

Source: University of Virginia Corporate Prosecution Registry (maintained by Prof. Brandon L. Garrett, Duke University). The registry has no state or jurisdiction-of-incorporation field on the company side, so same-name employers in different states may mis-attribute -- verify against the source case documents when precision matters.

Inspection history

DateTriggerViolationsSeriousPenalty
2006-12-11Complaint0$0
2006-12-04Complaint21$1,125
2006-02-28Follow-up0$0
2006-01-26Complaint31$2,678
2005-12-28Complaint0$0
2004-05-20Follow-up0$0
2003-05-27Complaint0$0
2003-05-07Complaint0$0
2003-04-08Complaint0$0
2003-03-26Referral41$1,350
2003-03-04Complaint1$0
2002-07-10Complaint4$0
2002-04-05Complaint64$9,900
2001-05-30Complaint2$1,450
2001-01-29Complaint32$2,100
2001-01-15Planned2$0
2000-11-08Complaint0$0
2000-05-24Planned4610$15,295
1999-08-03Complaint43$2,700
1996-05-23Referral2$0
1996-03-11Planned8614$15,421
1996-03-11Complaint51$525
1996-02-13Complaint1$70
1995-11-06Accident11$2,125
1995-04-04Complaint3$325
1995-03-30Complaint137$15,050
1995-01-05Follow-up0$0
1994-02-16Complaint21$7,875
1993-06-24Planned2512$4,050
1991-06-25Complaint71$240
1991-06-25Unprogrammed Related5$160
1991-06-20Accident22$1,170
1990-07-19Planned18$2,160
1989-04-18Complaint1$0

Source: OSHA IMIS. Citation amounts reflect initially assessed penalties; final amounts after appeal may differ.

In the news

Other employers in this industry and state

Other employers in scheduled passenger air transportation within MI, ordered by federal enforcement volume:

Related searches

About this data

This profile aggregates federal enforcement records on NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC from every major federal compliance and enforcement source plus the UVA Corporate Prosecution Registry. OSHA workplace safety inspections, WHD wage cases, MSHA mine safety, EPA environmental enforcement, NLRB labor relations, OFLC visa/labor certification, FMCSA motor carrier registration, SAM.gov debarments, CMS nursing-home records, BLS industry safety benchmarks, OSHA ITA self-reported injury rates, SEC enforcement and financial disclosures, CPSC and NHTSA recalls.

Establishments are matched across agencies using normalized employer name, state, and ZIP code.

OSHA citations typically appear 3–8 months after the inspection, so very recent enforcement actions may not yet be reflected. Profiles may be incomplete if the establishment operates under multiple legal names or files under variations our entity-matching rules don’t yet cover. To report a missing record or correction, email corrections@fastdol.com.

Need API access, bulk download, or licensed redistribution? The website is free. Programmatic and licensed access is handled separately.

Contact sales →

Frequently asked

What is NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC's OSHA violation history?
NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC has 34 OSHA inspections on record with 248 violations and $85,768.5 in total penalties.
How does NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC's safety record compare to its industry?
NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC operates in the scheduled passenger air transportation industry. The industry average Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) is 7.4.
Has NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC had any workplace fatalities?
Yes. Federal records show 1 fatality investigation involving NORTHWEST AIRLINES INC.