American Airlines mechanic in Miami charged with sabotaging plane. It aborted takeoff

[Clay_T]

From the Miami Herald 2019_09_05:
An American Airlines mechanic was arrested Thursday on a sabotage charge accusing him of disabling a navigation system on a flight with 150 people aboard before it was scheduled to take off from Miami International Airport earlier this summer.

The reason, according to a criminal complaint affidavit filed in Miami federal court: Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, a veteran employee, was upset over stalled union contract negotiations.

None of the passengers and crew on the flight to Nassau were injured because the tampering with the so-called air data module caused an error alert as the pilots powered up the plane’s engines on the runway July 17, according to a criminal complaint affidavit filed in Miami federal court. As a result, flight No. 2834 was aborted and taken out of service for routine maintenance at America’s hangar at MIA, which is when the tampering with the ADM system was discovered during an inspection.

An AA mechanic found a loosely connected tube in front of the nose gear underneath the cockpit that had been deliberately obstructed with some sort of hard foam material.Alani is charged with “willfully damaging, destroying or disabling an aircraft” and is expected to have his first appearance in Miami federal court on Friday.According to the complaint filed Thursday,

Alani glued the foam inside the tube leading from outside the plane to its air data module, a system that reports aircraft speed, pitch and other critical flight data. As a result, if the plane had taken off that day from MIA, the pilots would have had to operate the aircraft manually because the ADM system would not have received any computer data. After his arrest Thursday, the affidavit says that Alani told federal air marshals assigned to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force that “his intention was not to cause harm to the aircraft or its passengers.

”He said that his motive in tampering with the navigational system was because he was “upset” over stalled contract negotiations between the mechanics’ union and American Airlines that has raged for months — that “the dispute had affected him financially. ”He further said he only tampered with the plane’s air data module “in order to cause a delay or have the flight canceled in anticipation of obtaining overtime work,” according to the affidavit.

Relations have become so strained between the 12,000-employee mechanics’ union and American Airlines that the organization vowed a “bloody” battle over the course of the summer that has led to bitter legal fights in Texas, where the company is headquartered.Federal air marshals zeroed in on Alani, a longtime American Airlines mechanic, after reviewing video footage that captured him exiting a white truck on the morning of July 17 at concourse D and approaching the plane, which had just arrived from Orlando, the affidavit says.

The footage showed Alani, who walks with a limp, accessing the aircraft’s compartment where the navigational system was located in the plane, according to the affidavit, which was filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Alani, the federal charges said, spent about seven minutes doing the sabotage.

The air marshals, part of the Transportation Security Administration, also conducted interviews with three other AA mechanics who were with Alani after he tampered with the plane. They helped investigators identify him from the video footage. It was not yet clear if Alani had retained an attorney.
Here's the link: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article234766107.html
Mod

[hans brinker]

From the Miami Harold 2019_09_05:
I can't post links yet but /news/local/article234766107.html should get you there.


Sorry about the formatting.

Well, he won't have to worry about overtime for the next twenty-to-life.......

[luchtzak]

I checked flightradar24 data but the aircraft was never on the active runway, only on the taxiway. But that's what the newspapers made of it ;-)

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/aa2834#2153622b

[OldnGrounded]

I checked flightradar24 data but the aircraft was never on the active runway, only on the taxiway. But that's what the newspapers made of it ;-)

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/aa2834#2153622b

Right, and then there's this:

. . . the pilots would have had to operate the aircraft manually because the ADM system would not have received any computer data.

But you can't expect every general assignment reporter and editor to understand technical details that might apply to any story they cover.

Relations between AA and its mechanics must be very bad indeed. Still, there aren't many people in airline maintenance jobs who would even consider doing something like this, no matter how frustrated they might be with management.

[CherokeeDriver]

What a sad story. A person in a safety critical role deliberately sabotaging a critical aircraft system. How on earth did American Airlines manage to create such a toxic work environment for their employees? I don't in any way condone the actions of this member of staff before anyone suggests otherwise.

[TURIN]

How on earth did American Airlines manage to create such a toxic work environment for their employees?
Ruining their pension may have done it. I know a lot of their pilots are extremely unhappy too.

[tdracer]

What a sad story. A person in a safety critical role deliberately sabotaging a critical aircraft system. How on earth did American Airlines manage to create such a toxic work environment for their employees? I don't in any way condone the actions of this member of staff before anyone suggests otherwise.

Many years ago, my oldest sister managed to get herself fired from a decent job as a supermarket checkout for stealing (shoplifting). When we asked her why she'd done something so stupid, her response was that the union told them the supermarket was stealing from the employees, so she was justified in stealing back :ugh: Now, she was an intelligent person (by IQ, she was the smartest of us three kids), but had somehow convinced herself the logic of her actions.
Toxic rhetoric can have unexpected (and very undesirable) results.

[TFE731]

Ruining their pension may have done it. I know a lot of their pilots are extremely unhappy too.

Well he has found a solution then. He won’t be needing a pension where he will be going.

[UltraFan]

The guy is an idiot, not a terrorist. Would this even be on the news, let alone on FBI "joint terrorism task force", if his name was Joe Bob Whitaker? I wonder.

[QuagmireAirlines]

If it was a total pressure (pitot) tube that was blocked, then I don't see how the crew would see an airspeed mismatch problem until about 30 or 40 knots on takeoff, since that's ram air pressure he blocked. Maybe I'm missing something here from the flawed and spotty reporting. ??
I guess somebody crazy is bound to do this once in a while. This guy accessed the aircraft on the tarmac, unusual at the time since the plane had no outstanding problem reports to fix.

Also, why did it take so long to arrest this dude? Sabotage happend in July, and he was arrested in Sept. I think they found and fixed the problem and knew the foam didn't just magically appear there.

[Airbubba]

The guy is an idiot, not a terrorist. Would this even be on the news, let alone on FBI "joint terrorism task force", if his name was Joe Bob Whitaker? I wonder.

He will probably claim that he was profiled as an Iraqi who speaks little English but has worked on American Airlines planes for three decades.

From the article linked above:

At Friday’s first appearance, Alani spoke halting English and the judge asked for an Arabic interpreter to translate.

[OldnGrounded]

He will probably claim that he was profiled as an Iraqi who speaks little English but has worked on American Airlines planes for three decades.



I'm pretty sure that his lawyers will explain that the video evidence makes anything other than humble cooperation, in hope of a plea deal, the only rational way forward for this guy.

[OldnGrounded]

The guy is an idiot, not a terrorist. Would this even be on the news, let alone on FBI "joint terrorism task force", if his name was Joe Bob Whitaker? I wonder.

I think sabotage of a commercial airliner is pretty much guaranteed to get the attention of the feds and the regional terrorism task force in our current environment. And it's a pretty good bet that the media would run with any story like this one.

You're definitely right that he's an idiot and not a terrorist, but that might not be how a jury under the influence of an aggressive federal prosecutor would see it. I don't think it would be very smart for this guy's lawyers to let him go to trial.

[ironbutt57]

The guy is an idiot, not a terrorist. Would this even be on the news, let alone on FBI "joint terrorism task force", if his name was Joe Bob Whitaker? I wonder.


yes, indeed they would be...remember whe have non middle eastern terrorists as well in the good ole USA...nice try though

[cappt]

You don't go through the trouble of gluing a piece of foam in a air data port to cause overtime work, you do that to cause a crash.

[b1lanc]

The guy is an idiot, not a terrorist. Would this even be on the news, let alone on FBI "joint terrorism task force", if his name was Joe Bob Whitaker? I wonder.

Why to you assume that? Because an LEA has provided that line to a news organization? Do you really believe what you hear from the press? And it is not possible that the investigation is on-going with other targets to be had? And yes we have plenty of Joe Bob Whitaker's that are terrorists. Clearly you do not understand how law enforcement works.

[Airbubba]

This guy seems to be an expert on the pitot static system from his 2008 firing at Alaska Airlines. In his discrimination lawsuit against Alaska he said that he sometimes prayed on his prayer rug during breaks. Surely that means you can't fire him, right?


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/891x76/alani_4e0bb00f9a188f7b7e5d255a6deaf53054404ab3.jpg


Although he was working in Miami at the time he is suspected of sabotaging the plane, and when he was arrested on Thursday, he was previously based in California, according to public records and the discrimination lawsuit filed by Alani. The FBI described him in a statement to Business insider as a resident of Tracy, California, a town about 60 miles east of San Francisco, where he appears to have been previously based — it was unclear whether Alani had moved to the Florida area, or whether he was commuting for duty using employee travel benefits.

Court documents show that from 1998 to 2008, Alani was also employed by Alaska Airlines. The airline confirmed his dates of employment to Business Insider. He was fired from the airline in 2008 following a maintenance mistake after working there for about 10 years, according to the discrimination lawsuit he filed against Alaska Airlines.

Alaska Airlines also confirmed to Business Insider that Alani was an employee for several months in 1990.

He sued the airline in 2010, alleging he was discriminated against; the court found in favor of Alaska the following year.

In 2007, Alani made a mistake when installing an altimeter, according to the court documents of the judgement, and he submitted an ASAP report and notified the FAA of the potential safety hazard. Afterward, Alani was given an oral warning and told to attend training sessions again, according to the court documents.

Also in 2007, he made a mistake while installing a pitot tube, a sensor that helps determine a plane's air speed, according to documents Alaska Airlines entered as evidence. The FAA launched an investigation, while the airline gave Alani a written warning, the documents say.

In 2008, according to additional court documents from Alaska, Alani and another employee accidentally installed the wrong battery on a plane. Alani filed another ASAP report and was told that day that he would be suspended pending an internal investigation, according to the documents. Like 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 terminated, Alaska Airlines told Alani he was being discharged because of the battery incident, the HGS mistake, and the altimeter issue, the court documents say. Alaska also alleged during the lawsuit that while the airline was investigating the battery episode, the airline found at least three occasions in which Alani was clocked in at both Alaska and his other job at American Airlines.

Alani also had his avionics-technician certificate suspended by the FAA for 30 days after the investigation into the battery error, according to the court documents.



https://www.businessinsider.com/american-airlines-mechanic-charged-sabotage-fired-alaska-airlines-2019-9

[JRBarrett]

If it was a total pressure (pitot) tube that was blocked, then I don't see how the crew would see an airspeed mismatch problem until about 30 or 40 knots on takeoff, since that's ram air pressure he blocked. Maybe I'm missing something here from the flawed and spotty reporting. ??
I guess somebody crazy is bound to do this once in a while. This guy accessed the aircraft on the tarmac, unusual at the time since the plane had no outstanding problem reports to fix.

Also, why did it take so long to arrest this dude? Sabotage happend in July, and he was arrested in Sept. I think they found and fixed the problem and knew the foam didn't just magically appear there.

If a pitot tube is completely blocked on the ground, and the barometric pressure falls substantially from what it was at the time the blockage occurred, the trapped pressure (compared to the still open static port), can cause the airspeed to show a positive reading. This happened once to me with a Gulfstream G200. The pitot tube cover was made of molded plastic and had no vent hole. Apparently it made a completely airtight seal when installed on the pilot side pitot tube. We installed the covers when bringing the aircraft into the hangar after a flight on a day when the barometric pressure was 30.45 in/hg. A few days later, I powered up the aircraft on the GPU to do a preflight maintenance check, when the barometric pressure was about 29.75 in/hg. I thought there was an ADC failure because the pilot airspeed was showing about 65 knots. It took a few minutes to figure out what was going on. After pulling the pitot cover off, the false airspeed reading disappeared. At least it proved that the pitot line from the tube to the ADC was completely leak free on that particular aircraft...

[AviatorDave]

The guy is an idiot, not a terrorist. Would this even be on the news, let alone on FBI "joint terrorism task force", if his name was Joe Bob Whitaker? I wonder.

Let me disagree here. An idiot would have caused problems through incompetence or negligence. However, that guy was acting maliciously.
That makes him at least a criminal, and given the number of potentially affected people, a classification as a terrorist is not too far away.

[QuagmireAirlines]

If a pitot tube is completely blocked on the ground, and the barometric pressure falls substantially from what it was at the time the blockage occurred, the trapped pressure (compared to the still open static port), can cause the airspeed to show a positive reading. This happened once to me with a Gulfstream G200. The pitot tube cover was made of molded plastic and had no vent hole. Apparently it made a completely airtight seal when installed on the pilot side pitot tube. We installed the covers when bringing the aircraft into the hangar after a flight on a day when the barometric pressure was 30.45 in/hg. A few days later, I powered up the aircraft on the GPU to do a preflight maintenance check, when the barometric pressure was about 29.75 in/hg. I thought there was an ADC failure because the pilot airspeed was showing about 65 knots. It took a few minutes to figure out what was going on. After pulling the pitot cover off, the false airspeed reading disappeared. At least it proved that the pitot line from the tube to the ADC was completely leak free on that particular aircraft...
Good story! Yours was sealed up well, and this Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani nut-job used foam so didn't get a seal. Yet it would be enough to mess up total (ram air) pressure. Good thing the air crew was alert enough to abort the takeoff.

Wondering how a person with that record years ago got hired by American Airlines. No evidence he aligns himself with middle eastern lunatics here, yet his incompetence alone should have raised alarm bells. ..... I'll look for more and accurate news reporting on this subject, if somebody will cover it. For example, I still think it's bizarre how the sabotage happened in July, and obviously discovered, while it took over a month to arrest the crazy person.

[AC560]

How on earth did American Airlines manage to create such a toxic work environment for their employees?

There is only one person to blame for this act, the perpetrator. To suggest environment makes it acceptable which you do despite your caveat is disingenuous. People are responsible for their choices and actions. He will now be responsible for his in a jail cell which is where he belongs.

[WingSlinger]

For example, I still think it's bizarre how the sabotage happened in July, and obviously discovered, while it took over a month to arrest the crazy person.

Maybe they were observing him to see if they can catch him in the act, or to see if he has accomplices.

[FrequentSLF]

There is only one person to blame for this act, the perpetrator. To suggest environment makes it acceptable which you do despite your caveat is disingenuous. People are responsible for their choices and actions. He will now be responsible for his in a jail cell which is where he belongs.

Employeers are also responsible for actions of their employees, and clearly there have been failures on the background checks... said so I do agree that enviroment should not be used as a justification

[OldnGrounded]

To suggest environment makes it acceptable which you do despite your caveat is disingenuous.

Cherokee Driver didn't make any such suggestion. To try to understand the circumstances that may lead to behavior such as the act we are discussing is not to accept or excuse it.

[deja vu]

Almost beyond belief!

[b1lanc]

Would this have prevented you from hiring the guy?

https://www.foxnews.com/us/american-airlines-mechanic-accused-of-sabotaging-plane-denied-bail-over-possible-terrorist-ties

[Airbubba]

The guy is an idiot, not a terrorist. Would this even be on the news, let alone on FBI "joint terrorism task force", if his name was Joe Bob Whitaker? I wonder.

That's the line his defense attorney is going to try to sell. It looks like his brother is well known to the Miami JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force). And those jihadi beheading videos on his phone merely show that he is a man of faith, right? He just forgot to mention his recent trip to Iraq when asked.

How can he be a mechanic for American for 30 years in the U.S. and not speak much English? Even in the Middle East the maintenance manuals are in English as far as I know.

Lone wolf, no known ties etc...

He may just be a fool but I can see why the FBI and the U.S. Attorney would want him to be kept in custody.

[tdracer]

Airbubba, it seems it's much worse than that.
An American Airlines mechanic was denied bai (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article235199172.html)l by a federal judge Wednesday for potential ties to ISIS, after he was arrested for allegedly sabotaging (https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/06/us/florida-american-airlines-mechanic-faces-sabotage-charge/index.html) a plane at Miami International Airport.

Prosecutors presented evidence (https://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/09/18/prosecutors-former-american-airlines-mechanic-accused-of-miami-plane-sabotage-has-isis-ties/) in court that defendant Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani has a brother in Iraq with potential ties to ISIS and lied about visiting him in the country in March.
A search of Alani’s phone by prosecutors turned up a “disturbing” ISIS video of someone being shot in the head. Alani allegedly sent the video to someone along with a message that Allah should take revenge against non-Muslims, but it’s unclear if the video was texted, emailed or transmitted by another electronic method.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2019/09/18/american-airlines-mechanic-has-possible-isis-ties-prosecutors-say/#7e8254bd177a

His being a fool now appears to be an unlikely 'best case'. The more likely worst case is unimaginable bad...

[PiggyBack]

What a sad story. A person in a safety critical role deliberately sabotaging a critical aircraft system. How on earth did American Airlines manage to create such a toxic work environment for their employees? I don't in any way condone the actions of this member of staff before anyone suggests otherwise.

There may or may not be a toxic work environment but the only person responsible for this is the individual concerned and in large organisations it is difficult to ensure that there are not occasional individuals who perform unethical or dangerous actions. I am sure his recruitment, management and supervsion will be investigated.

I once called in to assist in a long running investigation of a medical imaging device which the customer complained was consistently producing poor quality images but whenever serviced was absolutely fine. This turned out to be a hospital employee who had previously worked for the manufacturer who had a grudge and was deliberately detuning/miscalibrating the system after servicing although he had no responsibility for working with the machine at all. We as the technical team took a little time to realise we were not looking at a technical issue. The whole thing was strange, he was not going to benefit, it could affect patient treatment although the possible impact of this was limited by daily QC checks on the machine, it was never going to make a long term impact on the company concerned and if he continued to sabotage the systems performance he was bound to be caught eventually. The sad fact is that there are a small proportion of people who take such actions and they are not always easy to spot.

[OldnGrounded]

Airbubba, it seems it's much worse than that.


https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2019/09/18/american-airlines-mechanic-has-possible-isis-ties-prosecutors-say/#7e8254bd177a

His being a fool now appears to be an unlikely 'best case'. The more likely worst case is unimaginable bad...

OK, it's certainly seeming less likely than when the story first popped up.

[Airbubba]

Some discussion of the safety aspects of the sabotage incident in this Miami Herald article:

But the prosecutor also said Alani admitted to investigators that his tampering with the plane’s navigation system was dangerous. When they asked him whether he would allow himself or his own family to fly on the jet without the system, he said “no,” Medetis said.

Medetis said investigators also spoke with the American Airlines pilot of the targeted plane, and he said that without a functional navigation system “it could have resulted in a crash.” The plane’s so-called air data module is a system that reports aircraft speed, pitch and other critical flight data to pilots. Alani is accused of disabling the system that served the pilot.

But Alani’s assistant federal public defender, Christian Dunham, said the prosecutors were exaggerating the evidence. He pointed out that there was a second navigation system still working on the plane so his alleged sabotage could not have caused it to crash.

“We don’t believe he intentionally endangered the safety of people” on that flight, said Dunham, who sought a pretrial bond signed by Alani’s family members in California and Florida. “I think the government is blowing this out of proportion.”



https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article235199172.html

[QuagmireAirlines]

Would this have prevented you from hiring the guy?
https://www.foxnews.com/us/american-airlines-mechanic-accused-of-sabotaging-plane-denied-bail-over-possible-terrorist-ties
I don't know if we're allowed to discuss terrorism on this forum. I do wonder how someone like that gets hired though. Guess thats all I'm allowed to say.

[Clay_T]

If this guy's goal was to just inconvenience a flight, I would think there are easier ways to do it.

So is was he a diligent prankster or a lousy saboteur?

[Airbubba]

I do wonder how someone like that gets hired though. Guess thats all I'm allowed to say.

Under the concept of 'diversity' folks who are 'different' are given preference in hiring. How much standards should be adjusted to promote goals of inclusion is a matter of some controversy.

From American's website:

Celebrating our differencesEmployee Business Resource GroupsWith more than 100,000 team members in 65 countries, our goal is to provide an inclusive environment for all. Our Diversity Advisory Council (DAC) leads diversity efforts across American by fostering company-wide educational, community service and personal enrichment opportunities. The council also supports local Employee Business Resource Groups (EBRGs), which represent many employees and their beliefs, nationalities and backgrounds.https://www.aa.com/content/images/customer-service/about-us/inclusion-diversity/pride-in-the-workplace.jpgPRIDE EBRG (LGBT and Allies)For the past 15 years, the Human Rights Campaign has given us the highest possible rating in the Corporate Equality Index, a nationally recognized benchmark that evaluates top workplaces in the U.S. and their inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees, customers and suppliers. We proudly support the LGBT community and we're taking steps to ensure equality for all employees.



https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1010x300/home_banner_employees_6f9be06b7cb7050f01949169f742a8b1565062 44.jpg


https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/about-us/diversity/employee-diversity.jsp (https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/about-us/diversity/employee-diversity.jsp)

[DaveReidUK]

Under the concept of 'diversity' folks who are 'different' are given preference in hiring.

Do you have any evidence for that ?

Promoting equality and diversity means giving the same opportunities to everyone. It doesn't mean biasing recruitment in favour of any particular group.

[Airbubba]

Promoting equality and diversity means giving the same opportunities to everyone. It doesn't mean biasing recruitment in favour of any particular group.

I certainly agree that's how it should be. ;)

[OldnGrounded]

Under the concept of 'diversity' folks who are 'different' are given preference in hiring. How much standards should be adjusted to promote goals of inclusion is a matter of some controversy.

From American's website:



https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/about-us/diversity/employee-diversity.jsp (https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/about-us/diversity/employee-diversity.jsp)

Note the reference to "team members in 65 countries." If you were in that photo, Airbubba, you would be one of the "folks who are different," as would any of us, because we are all different, in various ways.

I'd like to add my request for evidence that American, for instance, adjusts hiring standards due to the "differences" to which you refer. I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen and I'm virtually certain it doesn't happen for, e.g., A&P mechs, avionics techs, flight crew members, etc.

[ironbutt57]

Do you have any evidence for that ?

Promoting equality and diversity means giving the same opportunities to everyone. It doesn't mean biasing recruitment in favour of any particular group.

thats the theory,not the reality...

[WingNut60]

Do you have any evidence for that ?

Promoting equality and diversity means giving the same opportunities to everyone. It doesn't mean biasing recruitment in favour of any particular group.

This may be out of date; maybe not --

The principal affirmative action legislation in Australia is the Affirmative Action (Equal Opportunity for Women) Act 1986. This legislation aims to improve the status of women in employment by requiring certain employers to promote equal employment opportunity for women by developing and implementing an affirmative action program.(5)The Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986 covers all higher education institutions and employers (other than public sector employers) employing 100 or more employees. They are required to develop and implement affirmative action programs for women and to submit annual reports on the progress of those programs. Public sector employers are covered by public sector equal employment opportunity legislation. For example, section 22B of the Commonwealth Public Service Act 1922 requires federal government departments to implement affirmative action programs in relation to certain disadvantaged groups.There are eight steps to an affirmative action program, as described in the Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986, which an employer must take, namely:

issue an affirmative action policy statement to all staff
appoint a senior manager to oversee the program
consult with employees, particularly women
develop a profile showing jobs where men and women work
review personnel policies and practices
set goals for the program
monitor the program and evaluate its achievements.

The Affirmative Action Agency, which administers the Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986, names organisations failing to submit a report or providing a program. The report is tabled in the Australian Parliament.On 1 January 1993 the Keating Government introduced a policy of contract compliance under which organisations failing to comply with the Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986 are ineligible for government contracts and specified forms of industry assistance.

Ostensibly "ensured equal opportunity" but, as with American "affirmative action" programs has been roundly criticised, by some, for enabling that which it was enacted to prevent.

You can never level the playing field unless you play a little bit of "catch up" first.
There are programs and policies in the West Australian mining sector that, if closely scrutinised would be seen to exceed simply ensuring equal opportunity employment, to improve employment rates for aborigines. Nobody of any consequence sees these policies as threatening or unfair.
There is room for such policies without anyone being unduly inconvenienced.

[BFSGrad]

Do you have any evidence for that ?

Promoting equality and diversity means giving the same opportunities to everyone. It doesn't mean biasing recruitment in favour of any particular group.

U.S. labor law?

[sb_sfo]

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/California-man-pleads-guilty-to-sabotaging-14917186.php

[capngrog]

From the FBI website:Terrorism Definitions

International terrorism (https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2009-title18/html/USCODE-2009-title18-partI-chap113B-sec2331.htm): Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups who are inspired by, or associated with, designated foreign terrorist organizations or nations (state-sponsored).
Domestic terrorism (https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2009-title18/html/USCODE-2009-title18-partI-chap113B-sec2331.htm): Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.


With the above in mind, it seems to my untutored mind that the American Airlines mechanic, who is the subject of this thread, attempted an act of terrorism.

Christmas Cheers,
Grog

[AviatorDave]

Do you have any evidence for that ?

Promoting equality and diversity means giving the same opportunities to everyone.

Sure. That may be the noble intent.

It doesn't mean biasing recruitment in favour of any particular group.

But that‘s exactly what it more often than not comes down to in reality, unfortunately. Not pertaining to the case at hand here, I have witnessed this on many occasions. There‘s a strong quota thinking in companies, imposed by politics and media.

[OldnGrounded]

Sure. That may be the noble intent.



But that‘s exactly what it more often than not comes down to in reality, unfortunately. Not pertaining to the case at hand here, I have witnessed this on many occasions. There‘s a strong quota thinking in companies, imposed by politics and media.

With respect, you haven't answered Dave's question: Do you have any evidence?

[Airbubba]

An update on Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani from the Miami Herald:

Alani allowed the FBI to search his smartphone and agents found an ISIS video in which a person was being shot in the head, and that he sent the video to someone with an Arabic message asking “Allah” to take revenge against non-Muslims. Why, he was just exercising his First Amendment rights on social media as a man of religion I suppose. ;)

American Airlines mechanic sentenced to three years for tampering with plane in Miami
March 04, 2020 04:05 PM

An American Airlines mechanic convicted of sabotaging a navigation system on a Miami flight with 150 passengers aboard was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday after a legal debate over whether he “recklessly” or “intentionally” endangered the safety of the aircraft.

Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, 60, who pleaded guilty in December to tampering with the aircraft before takeoff last summer at Miami International Airport, received the benefit of a “reckless” finding by U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke. It was based on an agreement between his defense attorney and federal prosecutors.

Had the judge found that his tampering with the plane’s guidance system was intended to bring it down, Alani could have been sent to prison for two to three times longer under federal sentencing guidelines.

In the end, however, Cooke refused to grant the defendant’s request for 2-1/2 years in prison, saying his tampering — despite a backup in place — might have caused “some unfortunate calamity.” The judge noted that even the mechanic told federal investigators that he wouldn’t have wanted his family to be on that plane after he obstructed one of the aircraft’s two air data module systems with a piece of foam-like material. That, in turn, triggered an error alert on the runway before takeoff so that the pilot could return the plane to the gate for maintenance.

Alani’s defense attorney, Jonathan Meltz, told the judge that his intent was not to bring harm to the passengers, but rather to cause a flight delay or cancellation so that he could obtain overtime pay doing maintenance work on it. “The intent of Mr. Alani was solely financial,” Meltz said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Hummel reinforced that point by saying that clearly Alani intended to tamper with the aircraft’s guidance system, but it was not to cause it to crash after takeoff. “I don’t see that rising to the level of intent to bring down the plane, but I do see it as extreme recklessness,” Hummel told the judge.

Cooke also questioned the prosecutor on whether Alani’s case involved any connection to terrorism. The judge asked Hummel why she received an email from someone, without disclosing details, suggesting that Alani’s actions were motivated by terrorism. Hummel pointed out that after his arrest in September, FBI agents found “very disturbing videos” of the terrorist group ISIS on Alani’s smartphone, but they proved inconclusive.

“I don’t have a linkage of Mr. Alani being a member of ISIS,” Hummel told the judge, saying the case is not related to terrorism.

The Iraqi-born Alani, who commuted from his home in the San Francisco Bay Area to his American Airlines job at MIA, has been detained at the Federal Detention Center since his arrest in September. He had worked for the airline for 30 years.

At Alani’s detention hearing in September after his arrest, prosecutors suggested that Alani may have possible links to the Middle East terrorist group. Prosecutors said Alani allowed the FBI to search his smartphone and agents found an ISIS video in which a person was being shot in the head, and that he sent the video to someone with an Arabic message asking “Allah” to take revenge against non-Muslims. In addition, they said Alani sent $700 to someone in Iraq, where he was born and has family.

But after his arrest, Alani also told investigators that he disabled the aircraft’s navigation system on the morning of July 17 because he was upset over stalled union contract negotiations with American Airlines. He said he wanted to generate some overtime for maintenance on the plane. After putting in a double shift on July 17, he actually did some overtime work on the disabled plane. On average, he made $9,400 a month as an American mechanic.

The Miami-Nassau flight was aborted before takeoff at Miami International Airport after an error alert appeared on the navigation system.

Alani was accused of tampering with the plane’s air data module, a system that reports aircraft speed, pitch and other critical flight data to pilots.

At the detention hearing, prosecutor Maria Medetis said Alani admitted to federal investigators that his tampering with the plane’s navigation system was dangerous. When they asked him whether he would allow himself or his own family to fly on the jet without the system, he said “no,” Medetis said.

Medetis said investigators also spoke with the American Airlines pilot of the targeted plane, and he said that without a functional navigation system “it could have resulted in a crash.”

AA pilot Richard Shafer said he disagreed with the opinion of the defense’s expert saying there was “no danger” to the flight’s passengers and crew. “I firmly believe that the deliberate tampering with the ADM of my aircraft would have exposed my passengers and crew to a higher level of danger had the aircraft gone airborne,” Shafer said in a court declaration.

Alani’s tampering with the air data module system was discovered during an inspection of the plane at American Airlines’ hangar at MIA. An AA mechanic found a loosely connected tube in front of the nose gear underneath the cockpit that had been deliberately obstructed with some sort of hard foam material. Video footage also showed Alani tampering with the navigation system.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article240876846.html

[TheEdge]

So, in other words:

this guy had a ISIS video on his phone,
he sent the same video to a "friend" with a message asking Allah to take revenge against non-muslims
he sent money to someone in Iraq
he voluntarily tampered with a safety critical system of an aircraft with passenger on a commercial route


But he only got 3 years.

Good luck with that.

[negativeclimb]

Ridicolous, only 3 years for that. Meanwhile the TSA policies and their agente keep taking away bottles of water and investigate on salads bowls while the real dangers are already airside!!!