(AP) An American Airlines mechanic charged with sabotaging a plane because he was upset over stalled labor contract negotiations was fired from another airline several years ago and briefly had his mechanic’s license suspended, according to court documents.
Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani appeared in federal court in Miami on Friday on a charge of willfully damaging or disabling a plane. Federal investigators say he admitted to tampering with a part that provides vital flight information to pilots.
The pilots aborted the July 17 flight before takeoff in Miami. Alani, 60, was arrested Thursday. He had worked for American since 1988 but was suspended after his arrest.
Court records from a lawsuit in California indicate that for some years, Alani worked both for American and Alaska Airlines until Alaska fired him in 2008 after several errors including failing to verify that repairs were working and installing the wrong battery on a plane.
