sleeper cell
American Airlines mechanic in Miami charged with sabotaging plane. It aborted ta
- Thread starter Mr Nice
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I've never been an airline mechanic, but I can tell you that with just about any machine, it would not be hard to "pad the bill". I imagine that with an aircraft, all one would have to do would be to point to a part and say, "Holy moly! Is that a crack?", and that would be enough for the entire process to hit the brakes and take some time to figure out.
I'm leaning more toward terrorism or just basic psychopathy.
It can't be coincidence that multiple airliner crashes were caused by air data errors in the past decade and that's exactly the system he targeted to help get him overtime.
That's like stabbing Achilles in his heel as a "prank".
Or slashing someone's brake lines to "cost them money" in repairs.
I'm leaning more toward terrorism or just basic psychopathy.
It can't be coincidence that multiple airliner crashes were caused by air data errors in the past decade and that's exactly the system he targeted to help get him overtime.
That's like stabbing Achilles in his heel as a "prank".
Or slashing someone's brake lines to "cost them money" in repairs.
Come on guys , terrorist related please.🤪. With this guys experience level and access how hard do you think it would be to come up with something that would actually do the job of taking a plane down rather than this sort of amateurish prank? As much as I don't like Muslims and I've had a lot of experience in the law-enforcement realm with these guys I just can't see it . It's gonna come out to be just what they're saying, a poorly thought out scam to make a few bucks .
There was no aborted takeoff. The aircraft never left the taxiway.
This guy had a pretty checkered history to begin with, including at least three documented instances of being on the clock with two different airline employers simultaneously, one of which was American. Why AA hired the guy and then kept him is a question one might ask. Falsely reporting time worked is a termination offense with any employer I've ever heard of.
That this guy did what he did makes it clear that he intended to force cancellation of the flight, since the crew would have noticed the problem well before takeoff, as they did.
In the worst case, had the aircraft taken off, there would have been no real risk.
The engines, the wings and the control surfaces couldn't care less about an inoperative pilot convenience feature and the crew would have been fine on the backup instruments, since the crews of the US majors are both well experienced and well skilled., unlike those of certain other nations.
Why this guy did what he did is an open question that has nothing to do with his stated desire for a little OT pay.
American has been locked in a bitter dispute with its tech union for some years now and has numerous aircraft grounded at any given time due to the lack of union members willing to take OT in the absence of a contract settlement.
Had the guy wanted OT, it was readily available, especially at MIA which is a hub ruled by AA.
I suspect that this fellow has some other issues between his ears.
This guy had a pretty checkered history to begin with, including at least three documented instances of being on the clock with two different airline employers simultaneously, one of which was American. Why AA hired the guy and then kept him is a question one might ask. Falsely reporting time worked is a termination offense with any employer I've ever heard of.
That this guy did what he did makes it clear that he intended to force cancellation of the flight, since the crew would have noticed the problem well before takeoff, as they did.
In the worst case, had the aircraft taken off, there would have been no real risk.
The engines, the wings and the control surfaces couldn't care less about an inoperative pilot convenience feature and the crew would have been fine on the backup instruments, since the crews of the US majors are both well experienced and well skilled., unlike those of certain other nations.
Why this guy did what he did is an open question that has nothing to do with his stated desire for a little OT pay.
American has been locked in a bitter dispute with its tech union for some years now and has numerous aircraft grounded at any given time due to the lack of union members willing to take OT in the absence of a contract settlement.
Had the guy wanted OT, it was readily available, especially at MIA which is a hub ruled by AA.
I suspect that this fellow has some other issues between his ears.
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Originally Posted by fdcg27
In the worst case, had the aircraft taken off, there would have been no real risk.
The engines, the wings and the control surfaces couldn't care less about an inoperative pilot convenience feature and the crew would have been fine on the backup instruments, since the crews of the US majors are both well experienced and well skilled., unlike those of certain other nations.
Are you joking? The pitot tubes gather the information that controls everything. It's a redundant system which is why there is one on each side of the airframe but when the data computers get erroneous air speed numbers things start acting up. Air France lost 220+ souls because the pitot tubes formed ice and sent inconsistent numbers to the computer. If you think they're simply a pilot convenience then you're sorely misled. What this loser did to pad his own pocket is nothing short of felony premeditated murder. I hope this jerk spends the remainder of his life in prison and never gets the chance to change the oil in the prison lawn mower. His personal greed jeopardized every life on that aircraft. Thankfully the pilots noticed this error and addressed it as the serious condition that it was before they got airborne.
In the worst case, had the aircraft taken off, there would have been no real risk.
The engines, the wings and the control surfaces couldn't care less about an inoperative pilot convenience feature and the crew would have been fine on the backup instruments, since the crews of the US majors are both well experienced and well skilled., unlike those of certain other nations.
Are you joking? The pitot tubes gather the information that controls everything. It's a redundant system which is why there is one on each side of the airframe but when the data computers get erroneous air speed numbers things start acting up. Air France lost 220+ souls because the pitot tubes formed ice and sent inconsistent numbers to the computer. If you think they're simply a pilot convenience then you're sorely misled. What this loser did to pad his own pocket is nothing short of felony premeditated murder. I hope this jerk spends the remainder of his life in prison and never gets the chance to change the oil in the prison lawn mower. His personal greed jeopardized every life on that aircraft. Thankfully the pilots noticed this error and addressed it as the serious condition that it was before they got airborne.
It's the crew who control everything, not the computers.
As you write, it is a redundant system.
Boeing provides for alternate pitot static function as one would expect, so some fool intentionally blocking the ram air to one pitot tube would not eliminate airspeed indication, although it might cripple other functions of the screens. Aircraft were operated for decades with steam gauges and no screens, not even a flight director, including the B737 and I'm sure that the 737 has backup instruments for all essential information.
Boeing also provides a documented procedure for operating the aircraft with unreliable airspeed and I'm sure that Airbus does as well.
What I'm trying to say is that this aircraft would have been quite manageable by any reasonably skilled crew and the A330 involved in the ITCZ loss would have been as well, which explains why the French state prosecutor brought charges against Air France contending inadequate crew training and competency maintenance. Much has been written about the deskilling of pilots who don't hand fly their aircraft on a regular basis, but then there are also those who've never hand-flown anything and are totally lost when the automation leaves them with a really bad hand and no idea how to play it.
In the case of AF 447, had the crew left well enough alone with the aircraft on suitable pitch and power, the pitot tube icing would have been resolved in less than a minute, as it was and life would have gone back to normal (law).
As you write, it is a redundant system.
Boeing provides for alternate pitot static function as one would expect, so some fool intentionally blocking the ram air to one pitot tube would not eliminate airspeed indication, although it might cripple other functions of the screens. Aircraft were operated for decades with steam gauges and no screens, not even a flight director, including the B737 and I'm sure that the 737 has backup instruments for all essential information.
Boeing also provides a documented procedure for operating the aircraft with unreliable airspeed and I'm sure that Airbus does as well.
What I'm trying to say is that this aircraft would have been quite manageable by any reasonably skilled crew and the A330 involved in the ITCZ loss would have been as well, which explains why the French state prosecutor brought charges against Air France contending inadequate crew training and competency maintenance. Much has been written about the deskilling of pilots who don't hand fly their aircraft on a regular basis, but then there are also those who've never hand-flown anything and are totally lost when the automation leaves them with a really bad hand and no idea how to play it.
In the case of AF 447, had the crew left well enough alone with the aircraft on suitable pitch and power, the pitot tube icing would have been resolved in less than a minute, as it was and life would have gone back to normal (law).
What type of aircraft was this ?
No news I've seen stated the manufacturer / model of tampered aircraft.
Either way..... this jerk needs min 30 years in prison.
No news I've seen stated the manufacturer / model of tampered aircraft.
Either way..... this jerk needs min 30 years in prison.
Originally Posted by Driz
Come on guys , terrorist related please.🤪. With this guys experience level and access how hard do you think it would be to come up with something that would actually do the job of taking a plane down rather than this sort of amateurish prank? As much as I don't like Muslims and I've had a lot of experience in the law-enforcement realm with these guys I just can't see it . It's gonna come out to be just what they're saying, a poorly thought out scam to make a few bucks .
Disabling a pitot/static system is malicious beyond just mere law enforcement. It's terrorism.
Unless you know how the system is made, YOU DON'T KNOW how it's going to behave. Errors in airspeed and altitude are critical errors and will bring a plane down. Period, end of story.
Case in point, our G550 has 4 pitot static probes. The are oddly interconnected and they are NOT INDEPENDENT. In other words, if a mechanic blocks pitot tube 1 downstream of the probe with a piece of foam. Air data from the back up instrument will also be unreliable. #2 will be unaffected.
Pilots may think #2 has failed, as #1 and #3 read the same. Unless #1 and #3 read something absurd. At which point, they won't trust any of the instruments. It's not as simple as you may think.
Sure, given enough time, crews may figure it out. Or not.... As the crash mentioned above points out.
Come on guys , terrorist related please.🤪. With this guys experience level and access how hard do you think it would be to come up with something that would actually do the job of taking a plane down rather than this sort of amateurish prank? As much as I don't like Muslims and I've had a lot of experience in the law-enforcement realm with these guys I just can't see it . It's gonna come out to be just what they're saying, a poorly thought out scam to make a few bucks .
Disabling a pitot/static system is malicious beyond just mere law enforcement. It's terrorism.
Unless you know how the system is made, YOU DON'T KNOW how it's going to behave. Errors in airspeed and altitude are critical errors and will bring a plane down. Period, end of story.
Case in point, our G550 has 4 pitot static probes. The are oddly interconnected and they are NOT INDEPENDENT. In other words, if a mechanic blocks pitot tube 1 downstream of the probe with a piece of foam. Air data from the back up instrument will also be unreliable. #2 will be unaffected.
Pilots may think #2 has failed, as #1 and #3 read the same. Unless #1 and #3 read something absurd. At which point, they won't trust any of the instruments. It's not as simple as you may think.
Sure, given enough time, crews may figure it out. Or not.... As the crash mentioned above points out.
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I reviewed the MEL for the Generation 1 - 3 B737 and nowhere does it allow for an inoperative pitot sensor at either of the two systems. It allows for inoperative heating elements in certain conditions and for a few burned out panel lights but apparently the sensor itself is important enough to require that they work or the flight doesn't get dispatched. In this case the erroneous readings were noted on taxi out and the flight returned to the gate with a mechanical cancellation.
Originally Posted by FowVay
I reviewed the MEL for the Generation 1 - 3 B737 and nowhere does it allow for an inoperative pitot sensor at either of the two systems. It allows for inoperative heating elements in certain conditions and for a few burned out panel lights but apparently the sensor itself is important enough to require that they work or the flight doesn't get dispatched. In this case the erroneous readings were noted on taxi out and the flight returned to the gate with a mechanical cancellation.
Okay, here may lie the source of our disagreement.
I never meant to imply that an inoperative pitot static system could be MELed and the flight could go on.
I did mean to convey that even were the plane to have departed with one inoperative for whatever reason, then the crew would have had sufficient information to have operated the aircraft and returned it to the airport from which it had departed.
Remember that the crew has other clues as to what the aircraft should be doing, like known pitch and power settings.
Had the AF crew paid more attention to pitch and power and less to screens providing bad data, the flight would have progressed uneventfully.
The crew would have had to step back a moment and recognize this, though, which is really a training and competency maintenance issue.
The PF would have also had to recognize that the Airbus was in Alternate Law which does provide for structural limit protection but doesn't preclude a stall.
I reviewed the MEL for the Generation 1 - 3 B737 and nowhere does it allow for an inoperative pitot sensor at either of the two systems. It allows for inoperative heating elements in certain conditions and for a few burned out panel lights but apparently the sensor itself is important enough to require that they work or the flight doesn't get dispatched. In this case the erroneous readings were noted on taxi out and the flight returned to the gate with a mechanical cancellation.
Okay, here may lie the source of our disagreement.
I never meant to imply that an inoperative pitot static system could be MELed and the flight could go on.
I did mean to convey that even were the plane to have departed with one inoperative for whatever reason, then the crew would have had sufficient information to have operated the aircraft and returned it to the airport from which it had departed.
Remember that the crew has other clues as to what the aircraft should be doing, like known pitch and power settings.
Had the AF crew paid more attention to pitch and power and less to screens providing bad data, the flight would have progressed uneventfully.
The crew would have had to step back a moment and recognize this, though, which is really a training and competency maintenance issue.
The PF would have also had to recognize that the Airbus was in Alternate Law which does provide for structural limit protection but doesn't preclude a stall.
Update from WSVN 7 in Miami.
https://wsvn.com/news/local/amid-terrorism-talk-bail-denied-in-aircraft-sabotage-case/
https://wsvn.com/news/local/amid-terrorism-talk-bail-denied-in-aircraft-sabotage-case/
Originally Posted by Yah-Tah-Hey
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
A Florida man. That says enough.
Probably also a Spartan grad. Make that a high probability.
Just learned this AM about his background and who/what he is. Make that a guarantee he is a Spartan grad.
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
A Florida man. That says enough.
Probably also a Spartan grad. Make that a high probability.
Just learned this AM about his background and who/what he is. Make that a guarantee he is a Spartan grad.
Somebody tell us where he got his AMT (A&P) training.
"A mechanic accused of sabotaging an American Airlines jetliner had expressed a desire for A#*ah to hurt non-Muslims, stored violent Islamic State videos on his cellphone and has a brother in Iraq possibly involved with the extremist group, according to new evidence unveiled at his bail hearing Wednesday."
"More overtime"...... Yeah, right.
"More overtime"...... Yeah, right.
Originally Posted by billt460
"A mechanic accused of sabotaging an American Airlines jetliner had expressed a desire for A#*ah to hurt non-Muslims, stored violent Islamic State videos on his cellphone and has a brother in Iraq possibly involved with the extremist group, according to new evidence unveiled at his bail hearing Wednesday."
"More overtime"...... Yeah, right.
This is interesting.
Had an experienced if sometimes incompetent wrench wanted to bring down an airliner, there are more effective and less obvious ways of doing so.
This guy probably suffers undiagnosed serious mental illness and his IS video habit should have had him kept away from any civil aircraft all by itself.
I really doubt that any serious terrorist organization was running this guy as a sleeper. Any serious operation would have used someone more competent.
This was also probably not any sort of trial run since you don't get those in the terrorist operating world. A trial run serves only to help the target in understanding what doors it needs to close.
"A mechanic accused of sabotaging an American Airlines jetliner had expressed a desire for A#*ah to hurt non-Muslims, stored violent Islamic State videos on his cellphone and has a brother in Iraq possibly involved with the extremist group, according to new evidence unveiled at his bail hearing Wednesday."
"More overtime"...... Yeah, right.
This is interesting.
Had an experienced if sometimes incompetent wrench wanted to bring down an airliner, there are more effective and less obvious ways of doing so.
This guy probably suffers undiagnosed serious mental illness and his IS video habit should have had him kept away from any civil aircraft all by itself.
I really doubt that any serious terrorist organization was running this guy as a sleeper. Any serious operation would have used someone more competent.
This was also probably not any sort of trial run since you don't get those in the terrorist operating world. A trial run serves only to help the target in understanding what doors it needs to close.
Originally Posted by billt460
"A mechanic accused of sabotaging an American Airlines jetliner had expressed a desire for A#*ah to hurt non-Muslims, stored violent Islamic State videos on his cellphone and has a brother in Iraq possibly involved with the extremist group, according to new evidence unveiled at his bail hearing Wednesday."
"More overtime"...... Yeah, right.
It's clear that the mass media is constantly trying to hide the dirty truths of these "alien immigrants" who are in our country, the question is WHY are they allowed in to begin with?
"A mechanic accused of sabotaging an American Airlines jetliner had expressed a desire for A#*ah to hurt non-Muslims, stored violent Islamic State videos on his cellphone and has a brother in Iraq possibly involved with the extremist group, according to new evidence unveiled at his bail hearing Wednesday."
"More overtime"...... Yeah, right.
It's clear that the mass media is constantly trying to hide the dirty truths of these "alien immigrants" who are in our country, the question is WHY are they allowed in to begin with?
And why would the airline hire him? No back ground check?
Article says he has been a citizen for "decades" and in his current job since 1988. Apparently has behaved himself up until recent times. 60 is an odd age to begin doing this sort of thing.
I'm starting to change my perspective on this a little. I think this guy might not be the sharpest tool in the shed anymore. Court doctors will figure it out.
I'm starting to change my perspective on this a little. I think this guy might not be the sharpest tool in the shed anymore. Court doctors will figure it out.
Originally Posted by AC1DD
It's clear that the mass media is constantly trying to hide the dirty truths of these "alien immigrants" who are in our country, the question is WHY are they allowed in to begin with?
That's the question millions would love to have answered. Especially when various doctors, psychologists, and assorted other, "behavior experts" have all testified over the years since 9/11, that it's very easy for people who share these "religious beliefs", to cross over and be radicalized very easily. We have example after example of it. All adding up to multiple body counts per event. The problem is we never seem to learn from it. Our modern, idiotic PC culture prevents it.
It's clear that the mass media is constantly trying to hide the dirty truths of these "alien immigrants" who are in our country, the question is WHY are they allowed in to begin with?
That's the question millions would love to have answered. Especially when various doctors, psychologists, and assorted other, "behavior experts" have all testified over the years since 9/11, that it's very easy for people who share these "religious beliefs", to cross over and be radicalized very easily. We have example after example of it. All adding up to multiple body counts per event. The problem is we never seem to learn from it. Our modern, idiotic PC culture prevents it.
Aviation continues to remain a favored target. We must be on top of our game to prevent disaster. That includes non standard security measures. To an extent, technology can help.
I'm subject to daily review of criminal activity. If, for example, I get in trouble, my airport badge is immediately inoperative. I won't even be able to get in the parking lot.
Has such a system helped? It's unknown, as the data has not been shared. However it's my understanding that it's filtered out a larger percentage of people than you might expect.
I'm subject to daily review of criminal activity. If, for example, I get in trouble, my airport badge is immediately inoperative. I won't even be able to get in the parking lot.
Has such a system helped? It's unknown, as the data has not been shared. However it's my understanding that it's filtered out a larger percentage of people than you might expect.
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