DALLAS - American Airlines said it was canceling up to 500 flights Tuesday, potentially more than one-fifth of its schedule, to check the bundling of wires in some planes, the same issue that caused the airline to scrap more than 400 flights last month.
American, the nation's largest carrier, said the cancellations could spill into Wednesday and beyond.
The airline said the Federal Aviation Administration raised more concerns about the recent inspections of the wiring in its approximately 300 MD-80 aircraft.
The inspections will focus on issues including the spacing and direction of cords used to secure bundles of wires in the planes' auxiliary hydraulic systems. The company said they were not safety-of-flight issues.
Tim Wagner, a spokesman for the airline, said an FAA inspector checked several planes Monday and found that some of the work performed last month didn't meet the agency's standards.
American operates about 2,300 daily flights. Wagner said 185 flights had already been canceled by late afternoon at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where American often uses MD-80s.
The FAA has tightened inspections of planes at all U.S. carriers since the agency came under fire for letting Southwest Airlines Co. fly planes that had missed safety inspections. American and Delta Air Lines Inc. both canceled flights in late March to perform wiring-related inspections and repairs. Complete story at source here>>>
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