DALLAS — American Airlines says improperly installed clamps caused seats to pop loose on some of its planes, and it expanded an inspection to look at 47 jets.
In the past week, rows of seats have come loose on three separate flights, two of which made emergency landings. Federal officials are looking into the matter, which safety advocates consider to be serious.
On Tuesday American said that clamps used to attach rows of three seats to tracks on the aircraft floor were “improperly installed,” but it didn’t say where the work was done or who did it – American Airlines crews or a contractor who worked on the planes.
American had planned to inspect eight of its 102 Boeing 757 jets.
But by Tuesday afternoon it had inspected 36 planes and planned to check 11 more that have the same type of seats in the main cabin, the airline said.
Separately, an American flight on Tuesday from Chicago to London was diverted to Shannon Airport in Ireland after a report of smoke in the cabin. An airline spokesman said it turned out to be a faulty cooling fan in an entertainment system, and the plane was expected to continue on to London on Tuesday night.
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