Between FAA, American Airlines, the airports, and the passengers, I'll wager there's some Bankers and Stockbrokers involved too. Am I being too paranoid?? I don't think so!

It had occurred to me that planes on the ground consume less fuel so grounding a thousand for a day would save a buck or two.

And there is this theatrical aspect of air safety travel. Everyone who is not a threat has to take off their shoes too, like kids in a preschool pageant or someting.

Not really. A plane on the ground still costs you money. A plane in the air with passengers is making you money.

Usually..............LOL

Essentially, an AD was not being complied with for some reason and the FAA either wasn't paid off or just hadn't noticed. While I haven't read the AD personally, the non-technical description given by the author of this article doesn't make it sound like a tough job to accomplish. It just makes me wonder how many other hundreds of AD's aren't being complied with.

As an old FAR 135 operator, I've had my feet held to the fire for a lot less.

First of all, as an airframe and powerplant mechanic, I take extreme offense at AlaskaMan's statement that the FAA wasn't being "paid off". That is NOT the normal way mechanics operate. If we do not properly comply with ADs we can (and some have) loose our license to repair aircraft. I will not nor have I EVER asked the FAA to look the other way on a regulatory issue either for free or for a bribe!

Now lets take a look at the history of enforcement in the context of non-compliance with regulations. Does anyone remember the crash in the Florida everglades? Remember the oxygen generators that were improperly secured for shipment? There were at least three people brought up on CRIMINAL charges up to and including manslaughter as a result of that incident. That is just one example. I am sure that with some digging other, more obscure, incidents could be found.

As far as why didn't someone notice in the last 28 years, sometimes problems don't become obvious until well into the service life of a component or aircraft. That is the nature of things. After all, if we could predict every failure related to an aircraft, we would never have an accident or mechanical delay.

Finally, why did American Airlines ground three hundred airplanes? It wasn't to "save a buck". If you operated an airline and found out that either through negligence or incorrect interpretation that the majority of your fleet was not in compliance with an AD what would you do? The FAA could, if you decided to not cooperate, say that since the majority of your fleet is questionable, then they will question the rest of your fleet and by the way we will just take your operating certificate until you prove your aircraft are airworthy. Suddenly grounding 300 airplanes doesn't seem so terrible does it?

My father is an avionics technician for American Eagle, the regional carrier for AA. The issue that caused the groundings with 1 inch diameter bundles of wire and the new Directive stating they had to be secured every 1 inch (exactly) with plastic tie-straps. The wire bundles are secured every 8 inches by clamps, and then in between those clamps is where the tie-straps are placed. If the tie straps were placed one and a quarter inches, one and an eigth inches, or even one and a sixteenth inches apart the planes were being grounded. He was adamant that, after 30 years working on airplanes, and tens, if not hundreds of tie-straps secured, the only thing that will occur out of all of this is technicians using a ruler to measure out 1 inch exactly. Nothing bad would have happened. In his words, "This was just the FAA's way of cracking down after they looked to be in bed with southwest, this wasnt cracked hulls we're talking about, but an eigth of an inch spacing difference of a plastic strap..."

it IS some kind of game of chicken!! Or shell game for the FAA to get off the hook for THEIR incompetence!