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DALLAS (AP) - American Airlines says passenger seats on a third flight
came loose as the plane was airborne, and it's continuing to inspect other jets
with similar seating.
The airline
acknowledged Tuesday that seats came loose on a flight last week from
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Vail, Colo. The same thing happened
aboard the same plane Monday and a second plane Saturday, according to the
airline.
Separately an American
flight on Tuesday from Chicago to London was diverted to Shannon Airport in
Ireland after a report of smoke in the cabin. An airline spokesman said it
turned out to be a faulty cooling fan in an entertainment system, and the plane
was expected to continue on to London Tuesday night.
The reports of smoky cabins and seats coming loose during
flights raised questions about safety on the nation's third biggest airline.
Aviation industry experts said publicity about the problem could make passengers
stay away from American and fly on other airlines instead.
The spate of loose-seat reports
prompted American to inspect eight of its Boeing 757s that share similar seat
assemblies.
Airline spokeswoman
Andrea Huguely said an initial review indicated that there could be a problem
with the way the seats fit into tracks on the floor of the Boeing 757, but
technical teams from the airline "are looking at everything."
Asked if seats had ever come loose on
an American flight before last week, Huguely replied, "Not that I'm aware
of."
Huguely was adamant, however,
in saying that the incidents were not the result of sabotage by workers.
American's union employees are unhappy about pending layoffs and cuts in pay and
benefits that American has imposed since filing for bankruptcy protection in
November. American accuses some pilots of conducting an illegal work slowdown
that has caused a jump in canceled and delayed flights.
The problem planes were worked on by
several crews in different cities. After seats came loose the first time, a crew
in Vail tightened them and the plane made a return flight to Dallas. It flew to
Boston later that day, where the seats were tightened again, according to
American.
No further problems were
noticed until a flight Monday from New York to Miami, which returned to Kennedy
Airport. Another plane making a Boston-to-Miami trip on Saturday made an
emergency landing in New York after a row of seats came loose in flight.
The seats on both planes had been
removed and reinstalled during recent maintenance at an American Airlines
maintenance base in Tulsa, Okla., and a Timco Aviation Services facility in
North Carolina. In both cases American employees were the last to touch the
seats, Huguely said.
A Timco
spokesman declined to comment beyond saying that the company is still
investigating.
The Federal Aviation
Administration said it is looking into the incidents.
