American Airlines inspecting Boeing 757’s for faulty seats
Oct 3, 2012, 5:10 AM | Updated: 6:22 am
Seats from an American Airlines 757 are carried before receiving "Main Cabin Extra Refurbishment" Tuesday at Logan International Airport in Boston. (AP Photo/WBZ-TV
American Airlines should finish its inspections of Boeing 757’s Wednesday after seats on three flights came loose from the floor.
The airline acknowledged Tuesday that seats came loose on a flight last week from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Vail, Colo. The same thing happened aboard the same plane Monday and a second plane Saturday, according to the airline.
American has inspected 36 of the 47 planes that were recently retrofitted to provide more leg room.
Airline spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said an initial review indicated that there could be a problem with the way the seats fit into tracks on the floor of the Boeing 757.
Asked if seats had ever come loose on an American flight before last week, Huguely replied, “Not that I’m aware of.”
Inspectors found improper installation on six of the planes. The final 11 are being inspected Wednesday.
“Failure has come after both contract and our own internal maintenance. So finding what’s causing that failure, whether mechanical or human error, is really what we’re trying to do,” Dave Campbell, American’s Vice President for Safety, told CBS Radio.
American was moving the configuration of the seats so it could charge passengers more for the improved leg room.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it is looking into the incidents.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
