An American Airlines mechanic was arrested after being accused of sabotaging an airplane at the Miami Airport.
According to reports by Miami Herald, Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani allegedly disabled the navigation system on the plane which was set to take-off.
At the time, the plane was boarding 150 people on it.
“Just prior to taking the departure runway, the flight crew increased power to the engines to pre-position the Target Aircraft for takeoff,” read the complaint affidavit.
“The action of powering up the Target Aircraft’s engine resulted in an error related to the air data module (ADM) system which, in part, records aircraft speed, pitch, and other critical flight data. The takeoff was ordered aborted and the Target Aircraft was directed to return to MIA’s concourse D, gate 48, for maintenance.”
The affidavit further read: “An AA mechanic discovered a loosely connected pitot tube, which connects directly to the ADM. Further inspection revealed the ADM appeared to have been deliberately obstructed with what appeared to be a dark Styrofoam-type material.”
As a consequence of the damage done to the system by the 60-year-old, it was declared that the plane wouldn’t be able to fly before at least the next morning.
The outlet also revealed how the man manipulated the air data module of the plane’s navigation system.
“According to the complaint affidavit, Alani glued the foam inside the tube leading from outside the plane to its air data module, a system that reports aircraft speed, pitch and other critical flight data,” read the newspaper.
“As a result, if the plane had taken off that day from MIA, the pilots would have had to operate the aircraft manually because the ADM system would not have received any computer data.”
Alani, who didn’t deny his attempt to manipulate the machine, disclosed that the dispute between American Airlines and its mechanics’ union had caused him serious financial instability.
He told air marshals that he didn’t intend to hurt any person, and he just wanted a delay or cancellation in the flight so that he would be able to get some hours working overtime.
During the investigation of the incident, the federal air marshals found the footage in which Alani could clearly be seen entering the booth where the navigation system was installed.
Alani, who was also identified by other three fellow mechanics, was seen spending seven minutes inside the compartment.
The affidavit stated that on September 5, “Alani admitted he accessed the ADM in the Target Aircraft’s forward E&E compartment. He further admitted that he inserted a piece of foam into the ADM’s inlet where the line connects and that he applied super glue to the foam so as to prevent the foam coming off.”
Revealing the incident in detail, American Airlines issued a statement, saying: “On July 17, flight 2834 from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, returned to the gate due to a maintenance issue. Passengers boarded a new aircraft which then re-departed for Nassau.
“At American we have an unwavering commitment to the safety and security of our customers and team members and we are taking this matter very seriously.
“At the time of the incident, the aircraft was taken out of service, maintenance was performed and after an 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.”