If we go back to the late 90s the now defunct Ansett Australia 767-200s were grounded as well documented here on PPruNe.
http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/4...ne-cracks.html
Some say this was the beginning of the end for AN.....
Here
7.30 Report - 12/04/2001: CASA grounds Ansetts 767 fleet
As a sideline, In those days ANs 767s were fitted with Three seater cockpits to keep the unions happy at the time when they were purchased.
Official history from CASA at the time.
http://www.icao.int/FSIX/sr/synopsis...1_Synopsis.pdf
Similar to AA (sure different equipment age etc) ANs 767s were real work horses hence pylon cracking of the type is not startling news.
By P51 guy...American might not be the biggest but they will be there forever. I don't think the past will affect them in any way.
I agree, AA has made a lot of progress in addressing its maintenance procedures, having said that, the FAA seem to be doing their job better than ever before.