Airways, the charter airline used by the Bermuda Regiment to ferry recruits to various training camps.

The US government said the Miami-based charter airline did not meet federal standards for training and maintenance records.

The grounding came after an inspection last week which was prompted by allegations of problems with flight crew training and maintenance.

Major William Madeiros yesterday told The Royal Gazette he was shocked to hear of the action.

"I'm surprised; the safety of our guys always comes first. We've never experienced problems with them in the past but we certainly won't be flying on any airline that isn't FAA approved,'' he said. Brown Charter's Murray Brown said recently his company did not use the carrier: "Too expensive''.

Meyer Agencies Ltd.'s Henry Hayward indicated his company generally deals with Miami Air and was unsure if they had used Rich International Airways.

"We only do about five or six air charters a year so I can't recall if we've ever used them or not,'' he said.

FAA inspectors found the company's records were incomplete while other records showed that required training had not been conducted.

There were also questions about the airline's ability to technically monitor day-to-day operations.

The suspension took effect on Monday.

This is the FAA's second action against the carrier, which operates a fleet of 16 L-1011's and five DC-8 planes.

In June the FAA sought $2.6 million in civil penalties for maintenance violations.