U.S. airlines seek to stop aging aircraft rule AMR (AMR Corp [-] Text [+] By John Crawley WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - U.S. passenger and cargo airlines on Tuesday sought to stop, or at least change, a Federal Aviation Administration proposal to overhaul management of structural fatigue in older aircraft. The biggest passenger carriers and their cargo counterparts said the agency's proposal last April was premature and incomplete. They also said the FAA significantly underestimated what it would cost the airlines in maintenance and aircraft retirement costs to comply with the regulation. "Unfortunately, the proposed rule is quite simply unjustified. It should not be made final," the industry's primary trade group, the Air Transport Association, said in documents filed with the Transportation Department. For the first time, the FAA proposed strict criteria for determining life limits for commercial aircraft, potentially affecting thousands of aircraft already in service. The plan would also push new costs -- at least $360 million over 20 years -- onto an industry with several carriers that fly many older planes, the FAA said. Manufacturers, such as Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Europe's Airbus (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), would pick up about 10 percent of the cost while airlines would pay the rest. But industry estimates costs in excess of $3 billion, if certain scenarios involving aircraft retirements were considered. FedEx Corp. (FDX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said the proposal was overly complex and would "drain resources ." Continued... View our videos at: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ewrw4co Roger & Amanda La France