American Airlines has seen a lot of drama in recent months, including bankruptcy proceedings, mass layoffs, pilot uprisings, and delayed and canceled flights. Now this: Passengers' seats came loose on three different flights this week.
Those seats dislodged on routes from Boston to Miami, JFK to Miami and Vail to Dallas — just imagine the hysteria. Rows loosened shortly after takeoff, endangering surrounding passengers and requiring the aircrafts to divert flights to nearby airports.
The newly determined cause of the snafu? Not sabotage or improper maintenance but "gunk" buildup due to soda and coffee spills.
Although the Fort Worth-based carrier initially attributed the loose seats on "a saddle clamp improperly installed on the foot of the row leg," it has since changed direction.
The newly determined cause of the snafu? Not sabotage or improper maintenance but "gunk" buildup due to soda and coffee spills, according to one American Airlines spokeswoman.
CNN reports that said "gunk" — created by passenger sloppiness, no doubt — has affected the track on the ground "that locks the seats to the aircraft floor."
Sure, things tend to get a little sticky in flight, what with all of the elbow-bumping and turbulence. But seats loosening on multiple Boeing 757s, serving multiple routes?
We don't buy it.
