American Airlines Passenger Seats Come Loose Mid-Flight
Flying can be a terrifying experience for any person, the mere fact of being in the air thousands of feet above the world is honestly quite frightening. Yet, planes are the fastest method of traveling that we have today, and because of the demands of work travels, or family around the world, or the love to simply travel, we depend on this method of transportation to not only get us to our destination but also to get us there safely. So what happens when you are buckled into your seat, and then the entire row starts rocking around, and comes loose from the flooring? Would you be overwhelmed? You bet, and so were the passengers on an American Airlines flight today, and three days ago.
Today’s event mid-flight was the second in the past few days causing the pilots to conduct an emergency landing. Today’s incident was on flight 443 from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport to Miami. Once the pilot received notification of the dangerous hazard on the plane he immediately called for an emergency landing, and he took the passengers back to the JFK airport.
Thankfully the faulty seats were discovered and actions were taken before anyone could get hurt, and the passengers only had a 3 hour wait before being able to board other planes to get to their desired destination.
At this time, American Airlines has taken eight of their planes out of service in order for them to receive the proper safety inspections before any more people are placed at risk. The Federal Aviation Administration is working on the issues involving these planes and stated that after inspecting the two planes from the emergency landing flights, they discovered that many of the rows on the planes were not secured properly to the plane itself, and could have caused many more lives to be at risk.
A spokesperson for American Airlines addressed their concern for these hazards and notes that their company is conducting an internal investigation in order to find the cause for the seat malfunctions, thinking that it is possibly a specific model of their seats that is faulty. While AA is inspecting the eight specific planes that have the same models of seats, they also share that they don’t believe there is any one company or maintenance crew responsible for all of the faulty seats, but rather a product malfunction.
If you or someone you know has experienced safety or hazard issues on a flight, that could have been prevented, consider contacting a personal injury attorney who can fight for your case.
If you are wondering whether or not you want or have a case, contact me Gary G. Goldberg for a free initial consultation.
