An American Airlines mechanic accused of sabotage the navigation system of a flight due to take off in Florida in July has been denied bail, after the suspect’s potential ties to the Islamic State were revealed by prosecutors.
Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, 60, is suspected to have glued foam inside a tube that would disable the navigation systems of an aircraft at Miami International Airport.
The veteran employee allegedly tampered with the plane to cause a delay or have the flight cancelled ‘in anticipation of obtaining overtime.’
However, at a preliminary hearing in Miami Federal Court earlier today, prosecutors say they found ISIS propaganda on Alani’s cell phone, including graphic images of a man being executed by a gunshot to the head.
An American Airlines mechanic accused of sabotage the navigation system of a flight due to take off in Florida in July has been denied bail, with a judge citing evidence the suspect may have ties to the Islamic State
Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, 60, is suspected to have glued foam inside a tube that would disable the navigation systems of an aircraft at Miami International Airport
Alani allegedly sent the video to someone along with a message that Allah should take revenge against non-Muslims, but it’s unclear via which means the video was sent.
One of his co-workers also revealed the suspect had once apparently bragged that his brother was a soldier for the Islamic State, who he had traveled to visit in Iraq in March.
The same witness also claimed Alani has previously made statements about wanting to do harm to non-Muslims.
Alani’s roommate, however, told investigators the trip hadn’t been to visit his brother rather that his brother had been kidnapped and he’d traveled to visit numerous other relatives he has residing in the middle-eastern country.
It’s unclear whether the co-worker and the roommate were referring to the same brother in their statements, as a result of Alani’s large family.
Alani is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Iraq. He’s not charged with a terror-related crime.
The damage was noticed as the pilot fired the plane’s engines before taking off to Nassau, the Bahamas from Miami International Airport (above)
According to court documents, Alani admitted to investigators that he purposely sabotaged the airplane on July 17, just before its scheduled take-off to Nassau in the Bahamas, because he was upset about stalled union contract negotiations.
As the plane readied for take-off, a member of the flight crew noticed an error with the air data module system and the flight was aborted.
Other American Airlines mechanics later found a loosely connected tube that joins to the air data module system.
‘Further inspection revealed the ADM appeared to have been deliberately obstructed with what appeared to be a dark Styrofoam-type material,’ Jose Ruiz, a senior federal air marshal with the Transportation Security Administration, wrote in the affidavit.
The criminal complaint was launched after TSA federal air marshals claim to have identified Alani while reviewing video footage.
Alani allegedly sent the video to someone along with a message that Allah should take revenge against non-Muslims, but it’s unclear via which means the video was sent. One of his co-workers also revealed the suspect had once bragged that his brother was a soldier for the Islamic State, who he had traveled to visit in Iraq in March. The same witness also claimed Alani has previously made statements about wanting to do harm to non-Muslims.
Three other AA mechanics, who were with him during the purported sabotage, also helped investigators to identify Alani, who walks with a limp.
If an alarm wasn’t sounded on flight No. 2834 the pilot would have been forced to fly the plane manually, with 150 people on board.
The air data module that was affected reports aircraft speed, pitch and other critical flight data, according to the affidavit.
‘Alani stated that his intention was not to cause harm to the aircraft or its passengers,’ Ruiz wrote.
Alani was arrested on September 5 and charged with ‘willfully damaging, destroying, disabling, or wrecking an aircraft, and attempting to do so,’ and could spend up to 20 years in prison.