PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) – Federal officials are questioning whether an airline based at Pease Airport is financially stable enough to double its fleet of large planes.

Pan Am Clipper Connection and its parent company, Boston & Maine Airway Corp. have three Boeing 727s and want to add four more. Two months ago, the airline said it faced imminent collapse if it didn’t get government approval for the plan.

But in a Dec. 5 letter, the federal Department of Transportation requested more information about the airline’s policies, staff and finances. The letter said it is unclear whether the airline is fit to support expanded operations.

The Department of Transportation’s inspector general also has not completed an investigation into false financial reports submitted by the airline and its former general counsel earlier this year. Airline officials argue the former lawyer was acting on his own and the company is blameless.

Boston & Maine suspended large jet service from the Northeast to Florida in September.

—

Information from: Portsmouth Herald, http://www.seacoastonline.com