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2nd Round Of Inspections Cancels American Flights

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By DAVID KOENIG

The Associated Press

Published: April 9, 2008

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.

At Tampa International Airport, about 500 passengers discovered their flights were canceled because of the additional inspections required for Boeing MD-80 planes.

Three flights from Tampa were canceled, and American Airlines was rebooking the passengers, said Brenda Geoghagen, spokeswoman for Tampa International Airport.

The airport was notified of the inspections late in the afternoon.

"I'm sure this surprised everybody," Geoghagen said.

American, the nation's largest carrier, said the cancellations could spill into today and beyond.

The airline said the Federal Aviation Administration raised more concerns about the recent inspections of the wiring in its approximately 300 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.

The FAA has tightened inspections of planes at all U.S. carriers since the agency came under fire for letting Southwest Airlines fly planes that had missed safety inspections. American and Delta Air Lines canceled flights in late March to perform wiring-related inspections and repairs.

The Fort Worth-based airline said it would put displaced travelers on other American flights or those operated by competitors.

Reporter Ray Reyes contributed to this report.

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