American Airlines mechanic accused of sabotaging plane
An American Airlines mechanic charged trying to sabotage a plane has admitted his actions stem from the airline’s long running labor dispute with unions.
Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani appeared in court and is charged with ‘willfully damaging, destroying, disabling, or wrecking an aircraft, and attempting to do so’ according to federal court filings.
In interviews with investigators, Alani said he tried to disable the aircraft’s air data module (ADM) system in order to get called bajk to fix it and book overtime hours.
The ongoing labor dispute has been costing him money.
The ADM reports aircraft speed and other important flight data.
"Alani stated that his intention was not to cause harm to the aircraft or its passengers," the court filing stated.
The July 17 flight was aborted on the runway after pilots got a ADM error warning.
"The ADM appeared to have been deliberately obstructed with what appeared to be a dark Styrofoam-type material," investigators said.
The airline is ‘taking this matter very seriously’ and suspended Alani from duty.
It will no doubt strengthen the airline’s position in the ongoing labor dispute.
The airline has continually accused mechanics of deliberately slowing down productivity to use as a bargaining tool, which has caused the cancelations of dozens of flights daily.
"At the time of the incident, the aircraft was taken out of service, maintenance was performed and after a inspection to ensure it was safe the aircraft was returned to service. American immediately notified federal law enforcement who took over the investigation with our full cooperation," the airline said in a statement.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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