American Airlines pilots union warns of “significant spike” in safety-related issues

In a warning to American Airlines pilots, their union, the Allied Pilots Association (APA), says it’s seen “a significant spike in safety- and maintenance-related problems in our operation.”

The union claims that among the “problematic trends” it’s been tracking are tools left in wheel wheels, an increasing number of collisions between aircraft while they’re being towed, an increasing number of items left in the safety area near jet bridges and “pressure to return aircraft to line service to maintain on-time performance due to a lack of spares.”

CBS News obtained pictures of a hammer the APA says was found in an Airbus A319 wheel well on March 25 at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport before Flight 1654 departed for Cedar Rapids, Iowa. According to the APA, the flight’s first officer discovered it during his pre-flight walkaround and notified the captain. The captain called maintenance, who in turn inspected the aircraft and found a “Channellock style pliers and a screwdriver also located inside the wheel well.” The union says there were no open maintenance actions when the tool was found.