American Airlines said on Friday that it has repaired 42 planes that were inspected after some of their seats came loose during flights earlier this month.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based U.S. carrier said that repairs of
seats on all 48 Boeing 757 jets involved should be done by Saturday.
American Airlines canceled 50 flights on Thursday and 44 more on
Friday to improve the locking mechanisms used to secure seats to the
planes' floors, according to a report by The Dallas Morning News.
The company said on Thursday the reason the seats came loose was
that a pin that locks them into the aircraft floor could pop out
because of wear and dirt in the floor tracks.
"We have identified the issue and our maintenance teams are
securing an FAA (the Federal Aviation Administration)-approved
locking mechanism to make sure no seat can be dislodged," company
spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said in a statement.
The seat problems came as American Airlines was trying to recover
from widespread delays and flight cancelations in September.
Seats on three American Airlines planes came loose during flights
last week and earlier this week, prompting an investigation by the
FAA and company inspections.
