An alleged American Airlines sabotage mechanic has been fired from Alaska

REUTERS / Mike Blake

• The American Airlines mechanic, arrested and accused of sabotaging a plane, has been working for the airline since 1988.
• However, for about ten years, he simultaneously worked for Alaska Airlines, confirmed the airline to Business Insider.
• He was fired in 2008 for a series of mistakes – and duplication in cumulating both jobs at the same time – some of which led to FAA investigations, according to court records obtained by Business Insider as a result of Unsuccessful discrimination. mechanic filed against Alaska Airlines.
• The mechanic said he had sabotaged the plane in July because of frustration over contract negotiations between his union and American Airlines, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.

• Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.

The American Airlines mechanic, who had been arrested and accused of sabotaging a plane this summer, had been fired from Alaska Airlines in 2008, following a series of missteps. leading to several FAA investigations, according to court documents obtained by Business Insider after an unsuccessful lawsuit against the mechanic. filed against Alaska Airlines.

Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani was arrested by the FBI on Thursday morning and accused of deliberately sabotaging an American Airlines plane about to fly from Miami (FL) to Nassau (Bahamas).

Alani would have been "upset" by the stalled talks between the union representing the airline's mechanics – the TWU-IAM – and tampered with a sensor connecting to the aircraft's aerodynamic data module, or ADM on July 17, according to the criminal complaint filed against him. The pilots noticed an error message from the ADM as they positioned themselves on the runway to take off, then returned to the loading gate, the authorities said. in their complaint.

After his arrest, he stated that he was not attempting to hurt anyone on board the aircraft, nor to cause lasting harm to him, according to the criminal complaint, and was trying to " to cause a delay or cancel the flight for the purpose of obtaining overtime. " job."

Alani has been with American Airlines since 1988, with no major performance or discipline problems, according to a source familiar with the issue.

Although he was working in Miami when he would have sabotaged the plane and stopped Thursday, he was previously based in California, according to public information and Alani's lawsuit for discrimination. The FBI has described in a statement to a business insider as a resident of Tracy, California, a city located about 60 km east of San Francisco, where he seems to have already been based. It was not clear whether Alani had moved to the Florida area, or where he was going to work with his benefits.

From 1998 to 2008, Alani was also employed by Alaska Airlines, confirmed the airline to Business Insider. He was fired from the airline in 2008 after a maintenance error after having worked there for about 10 years, according to the lawsuit for discrimination he brought against Alaska Airlines.

Alaska Airlines also confirmed to Business Insider that Alani had been employed for several months in 1990.

In 2010, he sued the airline claiming to have been discriminated against; the court ruled in favor of Alaska the following year.

During the trial, many cases of Alani's mistakes were reported, approximately three years before his dismissal, according to court documents reviewed by Business Insider.

The errors were reported to have occurred between 2005 and 2008. In some incidents, he presented reports under the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), which allows employees to report problems and security, according to court documents of: the judge's decision in the trial. The ASAP reports may be submitted to the event review committee, or ERC, consisting of a union representative, a representative of the airline and the FAA.

• In 2005, Alani reportedly filed an ASAP report after entering the wrong code into a maintenance tracking database. According to the court documents, the ERC sent Alani to a "back-to-basics" remedial training program.
• Also in 2005, he forgot to check the inspection items required during the repair. The EWC closed the report without further action.
• In 2007, Alani allegedly made a mistake while installing an altimeter, according to Judicial Judgment Documents. He submitted an ASAP report and informed the FAA of the potential danger to safety. Subsequently, Alani received an oral warning and was invited to attend training sessions again, according to the court documents.
• Also in 2007, he made a mistake by installing a Pitot tube, a sensor that helps determine the airspeed of an aircraft, according to documents provided by Alaska Airlines. The FAA launched an investigation, while the airline had warned Alani in writing, according to the documents.
• Also in 2007, Alani allegedly made a mistake by sending a broken part – a Heads Up System (HGS) – to a mechanic base in Seattle, which would have led to his installation on an aircraft in service, according to court documents. . He received another verbal warning and was informed that any additional incident could result in his dismissal, say court documents.
• In 2008, according to additional court documents in Alaska, Alani and another employee accidentally installed the wrong battery on an airplane. Alani reportedly filed another ASAP report and would have learned that day that he would be suspended while waiting for an internal investigation, according to the documents. As with the Pitot tube incident, the FAA opened its own investigation, according to the documents, and two weeks later, Alani was fired.

When he was fired, Alaska Airlines told Alani that he was released as a result of the battery incident, the HGS error and the altimeter problem. , indicate the court documents. Alaska also claimed during the trial that while the airline was investigating the battery episode, it had found at least three occasions when Alani had been registered in both Alaska and his other job – American Airlines .

Alani also saw his avionics technician certificate suspended by the FAA for 30 days, as a result of the battery error investigation, according to court documents.

In the judgment against Alani in his discrimination action, the judge wrote that Alani's performance in Alaska was clearly substandard.

"The complainant did not prove that he was doing his job satisfactorily," he wrote.

"While it is true that the four events that preceded the dismissal of the complainant are in part attributable to other employees, the plaintiff is the common denominator of all incidents," added the judge. "Serious incidents have been grouped to the plaintiff to an unusual extent."

Alaska Airlines said in a statement that Alani was a technician for the company but declined to provide additional details about his employment, stating that "Alaska does not comment on the specific personnel issues of past and present employees. ".

In a statement released Thursday, American Airlines said to cooperate with the federal government's investigation:

On July 17, flight 2834 from Miami to Nassau (Bahamas) returned to the door due to a maintenance problem. The passengers embarked on a new plane which then left for Nassau. At American, we have an unwavering commitment to the safety of our customers and team members, and we take this issue very seriously. At the time of the incident, the aircraft was taken out of service, maintenance work was performed and, after an inspection to ensure its safety, the aircraft was put back into service. American immediately warned the federal security forces who resumed the investigation with our full cooperation.