American Airlines Mechanic Sabotaged Flight Just to Get Overtime

Source: Bruce Bennett / Getty

American Airlines Mechanic Reportedly Sabotaged Plane To Collect Overtime

According to the Associated Press, a Florida man appeared in federal court to face charges of willfully damaging or disabling a plane. Federal investigators say he admitted to tampering with a part that provides vital flight information to pilots to collect overtime.

Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani reportedly said he was upset over stalled contract negotiations between the airline and the mechanics union, but stated he didn’t want to hurt anyone. According to federal investigators, he stuffed and glued a piece of foam into the air data module system on American Airlines Flight 2834 earlier this year, preventing it from functioning normally. The system, which sits beneath the cockpit, is responsible for monitoring an aircraft’s speed, pitch and other flight data.

Alani had been with American since 1988 and simultaneously worked for Alaska from 1998 until he was fired in 2008 after several maintenance mistakes, some that led to Federal Aviation Administration investigations.

Alani was in federal court Friday and is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 20.