American Airlines Mechanic Accused Of Tampering With MIA Aircraft

MIAMI, FL — An American Airlines mechanic in Miami made his initial appearance before a federal judge in Miami on Friday after being accused of tampering with an airplane headed for the Bahamas with 150 people on board in July. Sixty-year-old Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani allegedly told investigators he was hoping to pick up some overtime by fixing the aircraft.

Ahmed Alani appeared before Magistrate Judge John O'Sullivan in Miami, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami. Court documents said the Tracy, California man was charged with willfully damaging, destroying, or disabling an aircraft.

“On July 17, flight 2834 from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, returned to the gate due to a maintenance issue," a spokesperson for American Airlines told Patch on Friday. "Passengers boarded a new aircraft which then re-departed for Nassau."

Court documents said Ahmed Alani allegedly disabled the aircraft's ADM system, which reports aircraft speed, pitch and other critical flight data. American Airlines captured the alleged tampering on surveillance video.

Ahmed Alani allegedly told law enforcement investigators that he was "upset at the stalled contract dispute between the union workers and American Airlines" that was affecting him financially, court documents explained.

"Alani claimed that he tampered with the target aircraft in order to cause a delay or have the flight cancelled in anticipation of obtaining overtime work," according to the documents.

American's Senior Vice President of Integrated Operations, David Seymour, described the incident as "extremely serious" in a communication to the airline's 130,000 employees. "Fortunately, with appropriate safety protocols and processes, this individual’s actions were discovered and mitigated before our aircraft flew," he said, adding that contract negotiations are scheduled to resume with the union on Sept. 16 before the National Mediation Board.

Court documents said the mechanic allegedly admitted to inserting a piece of foam into the ADM'S inlet where the line connects. He allegedly applied super glue to the foam to keep it from coming off, according to court documents.

"Alani stated that his intention was not to cause harm to the aircraft or its passengers," court documents said. The ADM was located in the aircraft's electrical and electronic equipment compartment.

"Alani further advised that after he accessed the E&E compartment and tampered with the ADM, he went up to the flight deck of the target aircraft to check on whether the target aircraft's system detected the tampered ADM," court documents said.

Special Agent Michael Leverock and spokesman Jim Marshall of the FBI in Miami said Ahmed Alani was arrested for his alleged involvement in the "sabotage" of a commercial airline aircraft.

"Ahmed Alani was arrested without incident by the FBI and the FBI Miami Joint Terrorism Task Force at Miami International Airport Thursday morning," Leverock and Marshall confirmed on Friday.

The airline spokesperson added that American "immediately notified federal law enforcement who took over the investigation" with the airline's full cooperation."

"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," said the American spokesperson. "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."