United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
American Airlines mechanic pleads guilty to plane sabotage
Former American Airlines mechanic Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani pled guilty in federal court to attempted sabotage of an airplane.
He admitted to tampering with a flight-monitoring device on a Boeing 737 jet in July 2019, in one count of attempted destruction of an aircraft.
According to court documents his intention was not to put passengers in harm but to make the flight-monitoring system inoperable so that he would get paid overtime to fix it.
He was annoyed over the stalled contract talks between the union and American Airlines which had impacted him financially.
Following his arrest there was media speculation his motive may have been terror-related but no charges regarding this were filed.
"His conduct is not representative of the work performed every day by our 15,000 Technical Operations safety professionals. Safety is the foundation of everything we do, and we know our maintenance team takes that responsibility seriously every day," the airline said.
Alani is still detained and could face 20 years prison if convicted.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
BA suspending all Heathrow to Abu Dhabi flights
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel
Foreign Office issues travel advisory for winter sun destinations