Scary news coming out of Miami this morning .
An American Airlines mechanic has been arrested and charged with sabotaging an aircraft’s navigation system before a flight in July, forcing crew to abort takeoff from Miami, according to an affidavit filed in federal court on Thursday.
The mechanic, Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, is set to appear in court on Friday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami.
Alani said “his intention was not to cause harm to the aircraft or its passengers” but to “cause a delay or have the flight cancelled in anticipation of obtaining overtime work,” according to the affidavit.
A fellow mechanic found a loose pitot tube, which connects to the aircraft data module, following which it was discovered that the system was obstructed, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit said the mechanic told law enforcement that he was upset about stalled contract negotiations with the company and that the “dispute had affected him financially.”
Flight 2834 was about to depart for Nassau, Bahamas on July 17 with 150 people on board, when an error message appeared after the engines were started up. The crew aborted takeoff and returned to the gate. The plane was taken out of service for maintenance, American Airlines said. Passengers deplaned and American provided a different aircraft for the flight.
You can read more over at CNBC.
Yeah, good idea letting Abdul Ahmed be a mechanic for any airlines…. GEEZ!