An American Airlines flight bound to Miami from Boston made an emergency landing at JFK airport yesterday after a row of seats came loose and "dangerously slid around like a carnival ride," according to the Post. "A row of seats basically became unbolted from the floor," an American Airlines pilot tells the tabloid. "The seats were completely not attached." On the plus side, there's an opportunity here for the struggling airline to charge extra for Priority Carnival Seating.
And because the jet had just taken off, it had nearly a full tank of fuel upon landing—this is called "landing heavy," and requires a crash-emergency response unit to swing into action. Fortunately no one on board was killed in a fiery explosion at JFK because somebody forgot to bolt down a row of seats.
The cause of the incident is under internal review, but airline industry insiders tell the Post this can be blamed on "the recent subcontracting of routine maintenance and inspection work." The company that owns American, AMR Corp., filed for bankruptcy last year, and ABC News reports that early 40 percent of American Airlines flights are delayed. Wall Street Journal travel editor Scott McCartney opines, "My advice is, until things get straightened out with the operations, if you have a choice, you ought to book another airline. It's just not worth it." At least not until American flight attendants start wearing clown makeup and serving Fried Dough.
