Miami (WBAP/KLIF) – A mechanic for American Airlines was arrested Thursday and accused of trying to sabotage a commercial airliner shortly before it was set to take off from Miami International Airport for the Bahamas with 150 people on board.
A criminal complaint filed in federal court says Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani is charged with “willfully damaging, destroying, disabling, or wrecking an aircraft.”
Alani admitted to investigators Thursday to trying to damage or disable the aircraft’s air data module system, which reports aircraft speed and other critical data, on July 17.
He told investigators on Thursday that the ongoing contract dispute with the airline has cost him money, and that he tampered with the aircraft so he could get overtime working on the plane.
In a statement, American Airlines said it cooperated fully with the investigation “and we are taking this matter very seriously.” The Fort Worth-based airline said the plane was taken out of service after the July incident and repaired and inspected before it was allowed to fly again.
(Copyright 2019 WBAP/KLIF 24/7 News)
