On Friday, An American Airlines mechanic appeared in court on charges of sabotaging a flight because he was upset about stalled union contract negotiations and wanted to earn overtime fixing the plane.
Federal officials say Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani admitted to tampering with a part that provides vital flight information to pilots.
Pilots aborted the flight before takeoff in Miami. Alani was arrested Thursday and charged with willfully damaging or disabling an aircraft. The 60-year-old had worked for American since 1988 but was suspended after his arrest. When he got to federal district court, the man spoke to through an Arabic interpreter. Mostly, he answered basic questions about his assets and whether he could afford a lawyer. The judge appointed a public defender and scheduled a bond hearing for next Wednesday and an arraignment hearing on Sept. 20.