American Airlines cancles flights to fix loose seats

  DAVID KOENIGNEW YORK -- American Airlines is cancelling dozens of flights as it scrambles to fix seats that could pop loose during flight.

Airline officials said late Thursday that they had come up with a fix for the seats, and they began pulling 48 Boeing 757s out of service to make repairs. All the planes should be back in service by Saturday.

The seat repairs, however, could inconvenience thousands of passengers. American said the work caused it to cancel 50 flights on Thursday and 44 on Friday. Each 757 that American operates in the U.S. has 188 seats.

It's the latest black eye for American parent AMR Corp., which is operating under bankruptcy protection and trying to fend off a takeover by US Airways Group Inc. Flight cancelations and delays surged in September, which American blamed on a slowdown by pilots who are unhappy that American canceled their labor contract.

Since last week, seats have come loose on three American Airlines flights involving 757s that had been recently refurbished. The seats had been removed and reinstalled as part of the work.

Federal officials said they are continuing a safety investigation into the events at the nation's third-biggest airline.

American originally said the problem was due to a clamp that holds rows of seats to tracks on the aircraft floor.

But officials offered a new explanation Thursday, saying that a combination of wear, poor design and even soda spilled into the tracks caused pins to pop out of the grooves.

The airline has used the same seats for 20 years without incident until now, said David L. Campbell, American's vice president of safety.

"The fundamental design of this seat is not as robust as some of the latest designs," Campbell said in an interview.

A spokesman for the seat manufacturer, Weber Aircraft LLC, declined to comment beyond saying that his company is still investigating.

A spokesman for American said later that Campbell agreed that removing and reinstalling the seats might have hastened their failure to stay in place.

Campbell said the new fix will consist of installing an additional locking mechanism that was designed by American's engineers and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA issued a statement saying that it approved of American's decision to conduct more inspections. The agency said its safety investigation was continuing and it would "take additional action as appropriate." The agency is likely to examine whether American adequately inspected the seats after the cabin-refurbishment jobs.

Todd Curtis, a former safety engineer with Boeing and director of the Airsafe.com Foundation, said American made the right decision to inspect more planes once it discovered the extent of the problem.

No other airlines have reported loose seats. United Airlines doesn't use the same seat, and US Airways uses different hardware to mount seats, said officials for those carriers.

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AP Airlines Writer Scott Mayerowitz in New York contributed to this report.

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American man shoots, kills chef at Israel hotel

  DANIEL ESTRINJERUSALEM -- A young American shot and killed a chef at a hotel in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat Friday, before forces from an anti-terror unit shot the gunman dead, police said. The incident appeared to be based on a personal dispute.

The attacker was on a Jewish work and study program and was employed at the hotel until earlier this week.

Eilat police official Eitan Gedassis told Israel Radio the attacker snatched a gun from a hotel security guard and fired a number of shots at the Leonardo Club hotel in the Red Sea resort city, killing the chef.

Police and army anti-terror units stormed the hotel, and the gunman fired back from the hotel kitchen, Gedassis said. Forces from the army's anti-terror unit returned fire, killing the attacker, said a spokeswoman for the Israeli military.

The gunman was a 23-year-old Jewish man from New York. He was participating in a program that brings Jews to Israel for work and studies, said Ofer Gutman, head of the Oranim program, which is sponsored partially by the Israeli government.

"He was a normal guy," Gutman told The Associated Press. "There was nothing that indicated what would happen in the end." Gutman declined to give the attacker's name.

Gutman spoke by telephone before boarding a flight to Eilat, where he hoped to calm the gunman's fellow program participants. "It's terrible what happened," he said.

The man arrived in Israel about two months ago on the Oranim program, combining Hebrew study, travel and work in an Eilat hotel along with a university course on hotel management, Gutman said. On Tuesday, the hotel and the program decided, together with the man, to terminate his work at the hotel, and the Oranim staff was planning to reassign him to another workplace, Gutman said.

Gutman did not say why it was decided to end his work at the hotel, but said participants sometimes transfer to other workplaces based on their personal preferences.

Israeli media reported that the man the gunman killed was a hotel employee who had argued with him. Police could not immediately verify that account. Zaki Heller, a spokesman for Israel's rescue service, told Israel's Channel 2 TV the victim was a man in his 50s. Police said he was a hotel chef. His name was not released.

Israel Radio reported that the gunman ran into the lobby and fired a shot in the air, then ran through the dining room as hotel guests dived under tables.

Michal Bouaron, a guest at the hotel, told Channel 2 that police ordered guests to stay in their rooms during the incident. Later, police announced that it was safe for guests to leave their rooms.

"Everyone left here happy, clapping," Bouaron said. "There was a lot of tension."

She added, "Life goes on ... We won't let this ruin our day and our vacation."

The hotel is filled to capacity, Israeli media reported, because of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, when many Israelis take vacations. Eilat, with attractive Red Sea beaches and hot, dry weather, is a favorite getaway spot for Israelis.

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American Airlines blames clamps for loose seats

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK -- American Airlines said that improperly installed clamps caused seats to pop loose on two planes during flights and an inspection turned up four others with the same problem.

The airline said Tuesday that it inspected and fixed the seats on 36 of its Boeing 757 jets and planned to check 11 other planes.

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.

David L. Campbell, the airline's vice president of safety, said in an interview that the clamps might have been installed incorrectly during maintenance work by American crews and an outside contractor, Timco Aviation Services. He could not recall a similar problem with any other American planes.

The first sign of trouble showed up last Wednesday, when crews noticed loose seats on a plane that had flown from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Vail, Colo. The seats were tightened again that day in Boston. The same plane had to make an emergency landing Monday when seats came loose shortly after takeoff on a New York-to-Miami flight.

Another plane flying from Boston to Miami on Saturday diverted to New York after seats loosened in mid-flight.

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, which the airline attributed to a faulty fan in an entertainment system.

The reports of smoky cabins and seats coming loose during flights raised questions about safety on the nation's third biggest airline. Aviation industry experts said bad publicity could lead passengers to avoid American.

Matt Ziemkiewicz, president of the safety-advocacy group National Air Disaster Alliance, said passengers could be hurt or killed in an otherwise survivable crash if seats break loose from their moorings.

"What if it's a little kid or an old person in the row behind them?" he said. "That seat becomes a projectile with people on it."

The planes in the Saturday and Monday incidents were serviced in the past two months and seats had been removed and reinstalled, American said.

Campbell, the safety executive, said new seats on some of American's 757s have a different fastening system - instead of four bolts that are wrench-tightened, they are held in place by two bolts in back that are tightened with wrenches and two in front that are hand-tightened. The seats must be positioned precisely so that they lock into place.

"It's a very temperamental job," he said.

American said work was done at an American Airlines base in Tulsa, Okla., and a Timco facility in North Carolina. In both cases, American employees were the last to touch the seats, said airline spokeswoman Andrea Huguely - a comment that drew a fierce response from the Transport Workers Union, which represents American's maintenance employees.

"Our workers were the last to touch the seats only in the sense that after the seats came loose we were dispatched" to fix them, said union official John Hewitt. The union blamed Timco and criticized management of American parent AMR Corp. for cutting costs by outsourcing maintenance work.

A Timco spokesman declined to comment beyond saying that the company is still investigating.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is looking into the incidents as well.

American officials said the incidents were not related to its difficulties with union workers, who are unhappy about pending layoffs and cuts in pay and benefits that American has imposed since filing for bankruptcy protection in November. American accuses some pilots of conducting an illegal work slowdown that caused a jump in canceled and delayed flights in September.

Robert Mann, an aviation consultant who once worked at American, said delays, cancelations and bad publicity about broken seats could create an opening for rivals United Airlines and Delta Air Lines to poach American customers in competitive markets like Chicago and New York.

"I'm struck by how close this company is to losing its way," he said.

Spencer Nam, a stock analyst from Boston who was flying to Dallas on American for business, said his Wednesday evening flight was delayed after passengers boarding the planes noticed that the seats in Row 12 were leaning toward Row 13. Although the problem was fixed and his plane got to Dallas on time, he said he might book another airline the next time.

"When it comes to flying, I don't like unexpected events," Nam said. "I'm 42, I've been flying more than 20 years, and I've never seen where seats weren't screwed down."

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American cancels 300 flights into October

  by DAVID KOENIGDALLAS,TX -- American Airlines and American Eagle say they will cancel 300 flights this week to cope with a high number of pilots reporting sick and an increase in maintenance reports filed by crews.

That's 1.25 percent of the 24,000 flights that were scheduled by the two airlines, which are owned by AMR Corp.

The two airlines had already canceled 249 flights this week by Wednesday afternoon, a flight-tracking service said, suggesting that cancelations might far exceed American's estimate.

AMR said Wednesday that it canceled the flights in advance to avoid inconveniencing passengers. Earlier this week, American said it would cut its schedule through the end of October by up to 2 percent.

American has seen an increase in flight cancelations since early this month, when a federal bankruptcy judge allowed the company to impose new pay and work rules on pilots. The pilots had rejected the company's last contract offer in August.

Each day this week, American has canceled more flights than any U.S. airline, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.

By late Wednesday afternoon, American and Eagle had canceled 73 flights, more than the next five airlines combined. They canceled 104 flights on Tuesday and 72 flights on Monday, FlightAware said.

In a note to operations managers, American said it was telling frequent fliers why it's been experiencing cancelations and delays. It is letting customers fly standby for earlier flights at no extra charge, and giving crews more leeway to hand out light snacks to delayed passengers.

The company said it's also offering overtime and adjusting work schedules for reservations and airport employees, and is moving maintenance crews to where they are needed most.

AMR is trying to slash annual labor costs by about $1 billion as it reorganizes under bankruptcy protection. Eight of its nine union labor groups ratified cost-cutting contracts, with pilots the lone holdout.

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Passenger restrained on American Airlines flight

Authorities say an unruly passenger onboard an American Airlines flight from Jamaica had to be restrained after the plane landed in Miami.

  Eyewitness NewsMIAMI (WABC) -- A 24-year-old Canadian man is in federal custody for rushing toward the front of an American Airlines flight from Jamaica after the plane landed in Miami.

The FBI says Ryan Snider faces federal charges including interference with a flight crew. His court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday. It's not known if he has an attorney. The FBI says this wasn't terrorism-related and Snider is not on the "no fly list." It did not provide Snider's hometown.

Airline officials say the disoriented passenger stood up from his seat after landing Friday at Miami International Airport from Montego Bay. The flight was taxiing and he didn't obey crew member instructions to sit down. Authorities say he rushed toward the front and was subdued by some of the 165 passengers on flight 320.

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American drone strikes kill 11 al-Qaida militants

  By AHMED AL-HAJSANAA, Yemen -- Two suspected U.S. drone strikes killed 11 al-Qaida militants in southern Yemen on Saturday, Yemeni military officials said.

The first attack took place near the border of Marib and Shabwa provinces southeast of the capital, Sanaa, killing six militants, including one Egyptian national, the officials said. The second strike hit two cars in Marib, killing five al-Qaida-linked fighters.

Over the past year, parts of Marib, Shabwa and other southern provinces have fallen under the control of al-Qaida militants who have capitalized on the turmoil in Yemen that stems from the popular uprising that toppled longtime leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.

There was no immediate word from the U.S. on whether Washington was behind Saturday's attacks. In the past two weeks, suspected U.S. airstrikes have killed at least three senior al-Qaida operatives in southern Yemen.

Yemeni officials have reported more frequent U.S. drone strikes since Yemen's new president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, took power in February after Saleh stepped down. Hadi has since ramped up the fight against al-Qaida militants.

The Pentagon recently sent American military trainers to Yemen, and Washington has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to assist the impoverished Arab nation fight al-Qaida and other extremist groups in the country.

The U.S. says al-Qaida's Yemeni branch, known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, is one of the group's most dangerous offshoots.

Yemen was the launching pad for two foiled al-Qaida attacks on U.S. territory: the Christmas 2009 attempt to down an American airliner over Detroit with an underwear bomb and the sending of printer cartridges packed with explosives to Chicago-area synagogues in 2010.

On Monday, The Associated Press disclosed that the CIA thwarted yet another plot by AQAP to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb which could have been undetectable by conventional airport scanners.

Separately, Yemeni military officials said an assault by government troops Saturday on al-Qaida forces around the southern city of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, left a general, a soldier and six militants dead.

The attack was part of the Yemeni military's broader campaign against al-Qaida-linked fighters in the south. Residents say the military used warplanes and artillery to pound areas west and north of Zinjibar.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.

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Iran sentences American man to death in CIA case

  By NASSER KARIMITEHRAN, Iran -- An Iranian court has convicted an American man of working for the CIA and sentenced him to death, state radio reported Monday, in a case adding to the accelerating tension between the United States and Iran.

Iran charges that as a former U.S. Marine, Amir Mirzaei Hekmati received special training and served at U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan before heading to Iran for his alleged intelligence mission. The radio report did not say when the verdict was issued.

Under Iranian law, he has 20 days to appeal.

The 28-year-old former military translator was born in Arizona and graduated from high school in Michigan. His family is of Iranian origin. His father, a professor at a community college in Flint, Michigan, has said his son is not a CIA spy and was visiting his grandmothers in Iran when he was arrested.

His trial took place as the U.S. announced new, tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, which Washington believes Tehran is using to develop a possible atomic weapons capability.

Iran, which says it only seeks nuclear reactors for energy and research, has sharply increased its threats and military posturing against stronger pressures, including the U.S. sanctions targeting Iran's Central Bank in attempts to complicate its ability to sell oil.

The U.S. State Department has demanded Hekmati's release.

The court convicted him of working with a hostile country, belonging to the CIA and trying to accuse Iran of involvement in terrorism, Monday's report said.

In its ruling, a branch of Tehran Revolutionary Court described Hekmati as a mohareb, an Islamic term that means a fighter against God, and a mofsed, or one who spreads corruption on earth. Both terms appear frequently in Iranian court rulings.

In a closed court hearing in late December, the prosecution asked for the death penalty for Hekmati.

The U.S. government has called on Iranian authorities to grant Swiss diplomats access to him in prison. The Swiss government represents U.S. interests in Iran because the two countries don't have diplomatic relations.

Hekmati is a dual U.S.-Iranian national. Iran considers him an Iranian since the country's law does not recognize dual citizenship.

His father, Ali Hekmati, and family friend Muna Jondy, an attorney who has been speaking on behalf of the family, did not immediately respond to emails and phone messages left at their offices before business hours Monday morning.

Similar cases against Americans accused of spying have heightened tensions throughout the years-long standoff over Iran's nuclear program.

Iran arrested three Americans in July 2009 along the border with Iraq and accused them of espionage, though the Americans said they were just hiking in the scenic and relatively peaceful Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

One of them was released after a year in prison, and the other two were freed in September in deals involving bail payments that were brokered by the Gulf sultanate of Oman, which has good relations with Iran and the U.S.

On Dec. 18, Iran's state TV broadcast video of Hekmati delivering a purported confession in which he said he was part of a plot to infiltrate Iran's Intelligence Ministry.

In a statement released the same day, the Intelligence Ministry said its agents identified Hekmati before his arrival in Iran, at Bagram Air Field in neighboring Afghanistan. Bagram is the main base for American and other international forces outside Kabul, the Afghan capital.

It is not clear exactly when he was arrested. Iranian news reports have said he was detained in late August or early September.

Hekmati's father, Ali, said in a December interview with The Associated Press, that his son was a former Arabic translator in the U.S. Marines who entered Iran about four months earlier to visit his grandmothers.

At the time, he was working in Qatar as a contractor for a company "that served the Marines," his father said, without providing more specific details.

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Alec Baldwin kicked off LA-to-NYC American flight

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- Alec Baldwin was kicked off an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Kennedy Airport for apparently playing Words With Friends.

Baldwin tweeted that he was "reamed out" by a flight attendant for playing the Scrabble-like game while the airplane sat at the gate, not moving (full tweets below).

Michael Wolf, a former president of MTV, was on the flight and tweeted "Alec Baldwin removed from the plane. We had to go back to the gate. Terrible that everyone had to wait."

Officials said police did not respond to the incident.

American Airlines is not officially commenting, but did release a statement through a spokeperson.

"Because of our privacy policies at the airline, we will not comment on what may or may not have happened to a passenger on a flight," the spokesman said.

However, AA did join in the tweeting: "Our flight attendants were following federal safety procedures on electronic devices when aircraft door is closed."

Baldwin's spokesman, Matthew Hiltzik, said the actor loves the game so much that he was willing to leave the plane to play. The "30 Rock" star got on another American Airlines flight.

Alec Baldwin's Tweets:

Flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing WORDS W FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not moving. #nowonderamericaairisbankrupt #theresalwaysunited Last flight with American. Where Catholic school gym teachers from the 1950's find jobs as flight attendants." But, oddly, 30 Rock plays inflight on American. #theresalwaysunited United Airlines should buy Words With Friends. Now on the 3 o'clock American flight. The flight attendants already look.....smarter. #theresalwaysunited Last flight w American. Where retired Catholic school gym teachers from the 1950's find jobs as flight attendants. Now, as I was kicked off this flight, the word I was playing was UNITED My words with friends user name is now #theresalwaysunited United shud hav app onboard where u can play WWF w other passengers. American shud have app where u read the new testament w flt attendants

Other passengers, who were delayed an hour by Baldwin's antics, didn't find the situation amusing.

"He was on his phone, and he didn't want to get off his phone," one passenger said. "Then he snuck into the bathroom."

Sitting in first class with a ringside view was former boxing champ Oscar de la Hoya.

"He just got a little angry," de la Hoya said.

And so did many of other passengers.

"He was very rude, caused us to be delayed, not very considerate," a passenger said.

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Taking A Look At The New North American National Parks

If nature is going to be preserved, new national parks are going to be needed throughout the world. The good news is that these parks are being created on a yearly basis. They are designed for a number of reasons, ranging from the protection of ecosystems to the remembrance of historical accomplishments.

The newest of these national parks are found on extreme northern Labrador. Created in January 2005, the Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve is the baby of the Canadian National Parks system. This park is a gift of Inuit land consisting of two distinct landscapes: the gentle Georgian Plateau formed by receding glaciers, and the spectacular Torngat Mountains.

The mountains are amongst the most rugged in North America. Along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, a hiker would find an untamed coastline where cliffs seem to erupt 900 meters out of the sea, and fjords jutting up to 80 miles inland. Massive icebergs can sometimes be seen ferrying along the coast.

This 3100 square kilometer park does whatever it takes to make an explorer seem small while expressing the grandeur of nature at its most beautiful and dangerous.

If you are looking for a place to witness firsthand many ecosystems living together, the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado are an excellent example of a national park that has a bit of everything. While the dunes were designated a national monument in 1932, they were not officially labeled a national park until September, 2004.

This was done so that the surrounding areas could be protected. The dunes are tall and move at a very rapid rate. In fact, one dune has recently taken over a forest. Little green tips of tress can be seen coming out of the dunes.

Medano Creek is also a very appealing attraction to tourists, especially when the weather is hot. A refreshing swim in the stream is a relaxation not to be missed after a long hike. If you want to see one of the most beautiful national parks in the country, visit the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado.

The Canadian national park that has the distinction of being one of the most remote is the Ukkusiksalik National Park found in northern Nunavut. It can only be reached by plane making it also one of the most untouched national parks.

Previously inhabited by Inuits until the 1960's, this twenty thousand plus square kilometer swath of land became an official national park in 2003.

For those ambitious adventurers willing to travel to this park, you'll be rewarded with such features as reversing falls, 8 meter high tides, a 24 foot waterfall that freezes in the winter, and archaeological sites of previous Inuit inhabitants.

Also, nature abounds in this northern habitat with polar bears, seals, caribou, and over 100 different species of birds.

These are only a few of the new national parks that you can witness firsthand. Areas still untouched by man are difficult to find and disappearing quickly. If you would like to learn more about Canadian national parks and be a part of history in the making, visit http://www.pc.gc.ca. For American parks, stop by http://www.nps.gov to find more information.

National Parks can be an intriguing and beautiful experience for anyone. Learn more about the New North American National Parks at Mike Selvon portal. While you are there leave is a comment at our National Park [http://www.mynicheportal.com/news-society/an-overview-of-national-parks-of-north-america] blog.

Go Green - Visit America's National Parks, Your Great American Real Estate

Many Americans don't realize that they are co-owners to some of the most incredible landscape on the planet, our National Parks. That's right, co-owners! On March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed into law a bill to establish the Yellowstone area as our first national park, thus starting the tradition down through history, of a new social concept to preserve similar areas across this great land.

President Teddy Roosevelt, during his presidency, actively pursued the proliferation of this new social concept by establishing the United States Forestry Service, 5 new national parks, 51 wildlife refuges, 150 national forests and 18 national monuments. To his credit, the Theodore Roosevelt National Park located in North Dakota, received national park status November 10, 1978.

America's national parks have always been open to all people without discrimination epitomizing democracy at work and offering all an equal share in the wealth and beauty of the land.

Today the National Park Service, the care-takers of our investment, tend 391 areas that cover over 84 million acres in almost every state. The largest park is the Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Arkansas, with over 13 million acres and the smallest is the Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Monument in Pennsylvania with only 0.02 acres. The most popular national park destination is Glacier National Park located in Montana, and the favorite park for viewing wildlife is the Channel Islands in California.

The governmental support of  these wondrous treasures of the American public falls under the  Department of the Interior which provides the annual budget to the National Park Service. When you consider the size and scope of the parks and the fact that there are over 272,623,980 visitors a year, you can see why adequate funding is of paramount importance.

The National Park Foundation is the charitable partner of America's national parks. It works to connect the American people and the parks by raising private funds, making strategic grants, creating innovative partnerships and increasing public awareness. The National Parks Conservation Association advocates for the national parks and the National Park Service. The NPCA works on the ground in and around national parks, conducting research, and working with the National Park Service staff, community leaders, park advocates, and state and federal legislators to ensure that our parks are well funded, managed and protected. Both non-partisan organizations are private, non-profit organizations that have contributed mightily to the well-being and support of our national parks and welcome new members and donations.

An awesome and inspiring six-part series for PBS, titled The National Parks: America's Best Idea, a film by Ken Burns, will debut on September 27, 2009. This production was filmed over a more than six year period amid the back drop of some of the most breath-taking scenery ever captured on film, and chronicles the legacy of the American people who committed themselves to preserving these great park lands. It might surprise you as to who those people are. The series is a modern day reminder to us that we too must rise to responsible stewardship of the park lands and see that they are preserved and cared for so that future generations can enjoy them too.

To take advantage of reviewing the marvelous lands that you as an American own visit the National Parks.Org website and request or download your 2009 Owner's Guide filled with detailed maps, information and travel tips and plan to visit your American investment. Or visit the National Park Service website and purchase your annual "Parks Pass" for all federal recreation lands and national parks.

It is your property, it is your legacy, and it is your responsibility to protect for future generations. Come and take possession and share it with others. You can participate in a very active way to make this country a better place for all.

Susi Pittman is a member of the National Parks Conservation Association, a free-lance writer and author, and founder of Catholic Stewards of Creation. She works as an activist with several animal and ecological organizations and lives in Florida with 14 rescued pet family members. To learn more about her upcoming book "Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know!" then visit, http://www.catholicstewardsofcreation.com