Miami airline mechanic accused of flight sabotage
An American Airlines mechanic based at Miami International Airport has been arrested on a charge that he sabotaged the navigation equipment of a flight carrying 150 people, forcing it to be grounded just before takeoff, authorities said.
The mechanic, Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, told investigators Thursday that he had tampered with the air data module system on Flight 2834 from Miami to Nassau in the Bahamas on July 17 because he was disgruntled about an impasse over a union contract, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.
The equipment, which is housed in a compartment beneath the cockpit and near the nose landing gear, keeps track of an aircraft’s speed and pitch as well as other critical flight data.
As the Boeing 737-800 was approaching the departure runway and powering up its engines, the crew got an error message and aborted the takeoff, the authorities said.
Security camera footage showed that Alani had gained access to the compartment housing the plane’s air data module system, where he inserted a piece of foam to obstruct the equipment, according to investigators.
“Alani stated that his intention was not to cause harm to the aircraft or its passengers,” the criminal complaint said. “Alani explained to law enforcement that he was upset at the stalled contract dispute between the union workers and American Airlines, and that this dispute had affected him financially. Alani claimed that he tampered with the target aircraft in order to cause a delay or have the flight canceled in anticipation of obtaining overtime work.”
Information about Alani’s age and place of residence was not immediately available. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.
He is charged with willfully damaging, destroying or disabling an aircraft...