Abdul Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani a mechanic with American Airlines is accused of sabotaging a plane carrying 150 people in Miami. He has been charged with one count of wilfully damaging the aircraft and can face upto 20 years in prison if convicted. A federal judge has denied bail to him saying that he may be “sympathetic to terrorists.”
As per the evidence presented in court, Alani a naturalized American citizen from Iraq has a brother with possible ties to ISIS. They further added that he had sent $700 to someone in Iraq and had videos on his cellphone depicting the murders committed by the ISIS. He also had not disclosed to the authorities that he had travelled to Iraq in March.
As per a report in NYT, The mechanic has admitted to federal agents that he tampered with the Boeing 737-800 at Miami International Airport on July 17, forcing the plane to be grounded before takeoff. The reason for his act was an impasse with a union contract. He wanted the flight to be delayed so that he could get overtime work.
Alani had glued styrofoam inside the nose of the aircraft. This disabled a part used to gauge airspeed and other flight data. The issue was detected before take-off and the plane was soon taken to the hangar for inspection where the sabotage was detected. Airport surveillance captured Alani working on the plane’s nose. He has been since fired and his mechanic certificate too has been revoked by the authorities.
A pitot tube, used to determine airspeed, a measurement vital to controlling the plane, was also loose, investigators said. Ice buildup in a pitot tube’s intake led to the 2009 crash of Air France Flight 447 over the Atlantic
As per the AP report, A lawyer for Mr Alani, Christian S. Dunham, said in court that prosecutors would not be able to prove that Mr Alani, an experienced mechanic, intentionally put people on the plane in danger.
Alani is expected to enter a plea Friday.
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