American Airlines Strands 100,000 People

Carrier Cancels More Than 900 More Flights Thursday As It Scrambles To Fix Faulty Wiring

(CBS/AP)  Business trips and vacations were disrupted for tens of thousands of travelers Wednesday as American Airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights — nearly half its schedule — to fix faulty wiring that could cause a short-circuit or even a fire and explosion.

The airline also canceled more than 900 flights Thursday.

It was the latest — and largest — in a wave of cancellations at major U.S. airlines that have caused long lines at ticket counters and made flying even more stressful than usual.

Executives at American said safety was never compromised, and they suggested the nation's biggest airline was the victim of suddenly stepped-up scrutiny by federal regulators.

But CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes reports that an FAA directive warns that if not tied up properly, the wires could short and cause a "fuel tank explosion and consequent loss of the airplane."

American estimated that more than 100,000 travelers were booked on Wednesday's 1,094 canceled flights. Many had to scramble to book new flights and were stranded at hotels far from home.

The airline had already scrubbed 460 flights on Tuesday after federal inspectors found problems with wiring work done two weeks ago, during the first set of shutdowns.

A top executive said the cancellations would be a "significant" cost to American, and shares of parent AMR Corp. fell 11.1 percent, down $1.15 to $9.17.

The issue stems from an order that the Federal Aviation Administration gave airlines in September 2006 — and gave airlines until last month to meet — about the bundling of wires in the backup power system for the fuel pump of the MD-80 airplanes. The fear is that improperly bundled wires could rub, leading to an electrical short or even fire. However, no serious incidents have been blamed on the bundles, the FAA said.

American officials thought they had fixed the problem last month. But this week, FAA inspectors found problems with the work done on more than a dozen planes. American said it had no choice but to ground all 300 of its MD-80s to deal with the wiring bundles.

American operates about 2,200 daily flights, more than one-third with MD-80s. Nearly half the cancellations were concentrated at two airports, in Dallas and Chicago.

At New York's LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday, hundreds of passengers stood in check-in lines or milled about, using cell phones to get updates on their flights. The airline offered free doughnuts, coffee and orange juice, but there were few takers.

"They should be able to predict these kinds of things," said Laura Goodman, whose flight home to Dallas was canceled. She said would miss an important meeting because the airline couldn't rebook her until Thursday.

New Yorker Michelle Soss had hoped to steal a few days in Albuquerque, N.M.

"I covered my kids' schedules, I covered my work schedule to get away for a few days," she said. "I don't know if I'm getting anywhere."

American's cancellations came after similar delays at Southwest, Delta and United. Last week, hundreds of travelers were marooned when Aloha Airlines and ATA Airlines shut down and filed for bankruptcy protection.

Alaska Airlines said Wednesday it canceled 14 flights to inspect the wiring on its nine MD-80s.

For travelers, the bad news might not end Thursday either. Daniel Garton, American's executive vice president, said cancellations could extend into Friday.

A return to normal operations depends on how quickly mechanics can inspect and fix the wire bundles. Airline spokesman Tim Wagner said late Wednesday afternoon that 60 planes had been cleared to fly, 119 were being worked on, and 121 planes had not yet been inspected.

Garton acknowledged that the bundling of wires had not met FAA standards, but he said "these were not huge errors" and posed no threat to safety. He said the agency used to give airlines "latitude" in interpreting safety regulations, but no longer.

The FAA began looking more closely at airlines' compliance with safety directives in recent weeks, after it was criticized for letting Southwest operate planes that had missed inspections for cracked fuselages.

In the past few weeks, the FAA levied a $10.2 million penalty against Southwest and conducted new inspections at all U.S. airlines, leading to flight cancellations at Southwest, Delta and United.

FAA spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere said inspectors found problems with the wiring bundles at 15 of 19 American MD-80s that it checked this week.

The 2006 safety order from the FAA directs airlines in how to pack and stow wiring to a hydraulic pump in the wheel well to prevent the wires from rubbing together.

According to the FAA, shorted wires could ignite fuel vapors and cause a fuel-tank explosion that could destroy a plane.

The explosion of TWA Flight 800 off New York's Long Island that killed all 230 people aboard in July 1996 was blamed on fuel vapors ignited by wiring. But it was a Boeing 747, not an MD-80, and investigators believe the disaster involved different wiring from the bundles now under scrutiny.

Brian Stirm, an aircraft-maintenance expert at Purdue University, said airlines had plenty of time for the inspections and that even an untrained mechanic could spot a problem.

The cancellations could hardly come at a worse time for American. Its parent, AMR Corp., is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings in two weeks, and analysts are forecasting a loss of more than $300 million. High fuel prices and the downturn in the economy are hurting the industry.

American officials said the company would give $500 travel vouchers to anyone stranded overnight. It also paid for hotel rooms and meals for an undisclosed number of passengers.

Bob McAdoo, an airline analyst, said passengers might soon forget the debacle, especially since several other major airlines have canceled flights recently. But he said passengers who missed big events like weddings might avoid American again.

Kathy Neer of Santa Fe, N.M., was caught up in both waves of cancellations to and from a vacation in Paris. She and her husband were stranded in Dallas on Tuesday on the final leg of their journey home. American gave the Neers a voucher for a hotel room and seats on another flight home Wednesday.

"They say our flight is leaving at 3:55 p.m., but do you think we trust them?" Neer said. "After being burned twice, we're a little skeptical."

[demslie]

The CEO ought to be jailed for thumbing his nose at the FAA Safety Inspection directives. He put customers and employees at needless risk. Had he made sure the Safety Inspections had taken place right after they were issued there would have been no disruptions in scheduled service at all. He ought to be sued, personally, for his crimes.

Posted by tucanofulano

tucanofulano says the problem could be fixed right away? Typical Brainwashed Democrat. Its all the fault of Big Business so lets sue, that always helps when the American tax payer pays for the Yachts and Mansions of Slimme Democrat Lawyers. And as usual the lying cheating Democrats would never mention that the Airlines told Congress that it would take years to fix thousands of planes unless the airlines stopped flying. Now that Democrats in Congress forced the airlines to stop flying, its all the airlines fault. And of course the lying cheating Democrats would never mention that Aircraft Unions, and the Democrat Trial Lawyers Associations which are the Largest CASH contributors to the DNC are behind much of this mess. The Unions are mad because the near Bankrupt airlines were forced to cut costs including Union jobs. And the Slimme Snakes of the Democrat Trial Lawyers can''t wait to find a reason to sue for Billions so they can finance Hillary and Obama and buy more Yachts and Mansions. Democrats like tucanofulano don''t give a DAMNN about public safety. It%u2019s all about the money and political power.

[pensacola88]

The military more than anyone has taught commercial aviation about wiring safety. A T-38 with an electrical problem, forced a NASA astronaut to eject when his landing gear wouldn''t extend. General Dynamics learned about the limitations of Kaptan, a wiring insulation used in F-16 wiring harnesses that caused losses of pilots and the top prized fighter jets in the late 1980''s.

It is true that we have a great and complex system and shows its efficiency when everything is working right. The wiring in the wheel well does get exposed to outside environments which can be dusty, muddy, icy, wet, and contaminated with aerosol pollutants. Whizzing through the air at an approach speed of 180 MPH, with landing gear extended, offers plenty of exposure to hazzards.

Give way to safety. American Airlines is most professional about its safety decisions and flight operations. Even when I face a possible flight cancellation next week from American Airlines, I remain completely confident in the FAA and American Airlines. It is a great example of a healthy government and buisiness partnership working for us.

[brianbwb-2009]

"Oh, so they should just have ignored examining "to fix faulty wiring that could cause a short-circuit or even a fire and explosion. " In your mind they should have just kept flying until an accident that these inspections could have avoided. However, you would then be outraged that they DIDN''''T do the inspections. Go figure." Posted by TheGateway1

I think that marcpcbs is making exactly your point. As revealed in the following statement, "The issue stems from an order that the Federal Aviation Administration gave airlines in September 2006 %u2014 and gave airlines until last month to meet %u2014", it seems that the airlines were told one and a half years ago about the problem, and, as you say they didn''t do the inspections as they were told, they did ignore the directive, risking the lives of passengers.

They could have done maybe 50 to 75 planes a day, and avoided the mass disruptions, but as always greed got in the way.

[termtex01]

"Way to go American Airlines. Right when you think the air travel industry couldn''''t get any worse, good old AA proves us all wrong.

Remember way back when giving service to the customer was the way most businesses did things. The kids of today can only read about this kind of thing in their history books.

Posted by marcpcbs at 02:30 AM : Apr 10, 2008"

Oh, so they should just have ignored examining "to fix faulty wiring that could cause a short-circuit or even a fire and explosion. " In your mind they should have just kept flying until an accident that these inspections could have avoided. However, you would then be outraged that they DIDN''T do the inspections.

Go figure.

[fibonacci_]

Are you retarded davidnina?

[marcpcbs]

Way to go American Airlines. Right when you think the air travel industry couldn''t get any worse, good old AA proves us all wrong.

Remember way back when giving service to the customer was the way most businesses did things. The kids of today can only read about this kind of thing in their history books.

[tucano2]

The CEO ought to be jailed for thumbing his nose at the FAA Safety Inspection directives. He put customers and employees at needless risk. Had he made sure the Safety Inspections had taken place right after they were issued there would have been no disruptions in scheduled service at all. He ought to be sued, personally, for his crimes.

[brianbwb-2009]

"The cancellations could hardly come at a worse time for American. Its parent, AMR Corp., is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings in two weeks, and analysts are forecasting a loss of more than $300 million. High fuel prices and the downturn in the economy are hurting the industry."

I smell another airline bailout coming.

[brianbwb-2009]

To all the "trickle downers" who shout that privatizing America''s infrastructure is the way to go, you have had since Reagan to prove your point, but failed. The private sector has proven to be even more corrupt than the public sector, and now our vital infrastructure components are in their greedy little hands.

While you wait in the terminal for a flight that won''t get you to your business meeting on time, if at all, and in questionable safety, the question begs to be asked, Now are you happy?

We tried it your way, that failed.

[Marie Zarankevich]

Idiots! -- What ever happened to sanity? -- I guess it''s out of style now. -- Not slexy enough. -- What if everybody went sane for a month? -- Think we could handle it? -- Nah, not enough news in it. -- I mean, if everyone was responsible, and behaved like adults, there would be nothing worth reporting, right? -- But it kinda stinks that it''s taking our whole world into the toilette! -- Depressing.

[Michael Arnold]

And the 2008 "Best Sheep" award goes to.... the U.S. Flying Public!

How DO you do it???? Thank God I don''t have to fly. Sorry, but the flying public deserves all the pain it gets for continually bending over and taking this stuff.

As for "bullet trains", they don''t sell cars, trucks or SUVs. They don''t require laying billions of cubic yards of concrete or asphalt, nor do they require ...GAS! (SURPRISE!) So, don''t expect to see any in the future. Guess what American traveling public... you''re SCREWED! Suck it up, grab a bottle of $4 water and a Taco from the food court, sit back and enjoy your stay ...in the TERMINAL.

[ontheleft]

The MD-80 is the reason I never fly American. That''s a lousy aircraft.

[jackah4]

"Why don''''''''t we have bullet trains as competition and a back up to one of the worst transportation systems in the industrialized world?" Posted by jackah4
------------------

"Too costly?" Posted by hypnotoad72 at 06:58 PM : Apr 09, 2008
------------------

No. California study shows it will cost 1/3 than that of all the airport expansions, while creating millions of new jobs.

Must be some other reason...

[rushlimpdrug]

Thank you AA (Alcoholics Anonymous?).
Freakin'' reeetardds! !
I have had it with all this krap!
Get these repub compassionate conservative deregulated MF''s outta here before they kill us all.
And do way with the rest of the traitor demos including pullutsy.
How much more of their lying ways can we take people? ? ?
We are working our way to becoming a country similar to Mexico/Cuba.
Stop the madness.
I can''t stand it.
and get rid of that reetard mormon Beck.
Tired of seeing his stupid face and dumb remarks on tv.
Anyway, I''m getting something to eat while I''m STUCK here.
All this sekurity and turns out the airline management are the real terrorist.
Go figure.

[hypnotoad72]

Why don''''t we have bullet trains as competition and a back up to one of the worst transportation systems in the industrialized world?

Posted by jackah4
------------------

Too costly?

[jackah4]

Why don''t we have bullet trains as competition and a back up to one of the worst transportation systems in the industrialized world?

WAKE UP AMERICA!

[oldpilot954]

mokenman
"The airline said flight safety was never compromised"
If this were true (a word not used in the U.S. any longer), why would the wiring issue be a FAA safety directive?

If you read the Airworthiness Directive that I assume this concerns, the FAA allowed 18 months from the effective date of the "AD". Had the FAA thought it was an immediate risk they would have required it "before further flight". The requirement was to inspect the wiring and, on some configurations, add additional protective covering. My guess is that the inspections were done as part of the normal inspection process but somehow the additional sleeving was not installed. What the general public does not understand is that in our litigious society, hundreds Airworthiness Directives like these get written at the request of manufacturers to absolve them of any blame if that 1-in-a-million chance happens. Do those items need to be corrected --- Yes. Are we likely to see aircraft falling from the sky because of it -- No. However, being statistically safe doesn''t mean much if you are in the burning aircraft.

[rudy654-2009]

Boy our transportation industry stinks as badly as our health care industry. They sure want our tax dollars, but treat us like cattle in the process.

[andor3]

another aspect of this... I just talked to someone who had to change flights because of this. A last minute change automatically flags you for extra TSA screening, which means hundreds of thousands of passengers are flagged now and overloading TSA. The TSA is "streamlining" passenger screening to avoid delays as people try to catch their new flights... translation: this not only inconveniences travelers but is also compromising security.

[bogusbones]

methinks the airline, along with many other u.s. industries, has been skirting federal regulations. now they see a potential new regime and have to get their houses in order. the 7 years of good times and rampant capitalistic disregard are coming to an end. hooray for the consumer, too bad for the elite and the contributors.