American Suspends Manager Who Chewed Out Mechanic

By: Ben Schlappig

Published: June 14, 2019

62 comments

Last week I shared a video of an American Airlines mechanic being chewed out by his manager. While we don’t know the full context, here’s part of the conversation in the video:

“Every time you come down here you write s*** up and you f****** leave. You stuck a plane in my a** last time for three f****** minutes and I trusted you, you said…

More from OMAAT Beond Airlines Suspends Flights Again: Will They Resume In December? Read more

“I did my job.”

“You’re not doing your job. If you did your job you’d fix these f****** engines you’re writing up.”

“I am.”

“Bull, okay then show me where the f****** sign-off is.”

“I only work eight hours.”

Here’s the video (once again, note that it has a lot of bad language, so if you’re offended by that I’d recommend not watching):

Well, it looks like there’s now some more information regarding the situation. CBS Chicago did a story on this, and even interviews the mechanic who took the video:

According to the mechanic being interviewed:

The manager was angry because a flight took a three minute delay the previous week because he “had a lot of work to do on the plane”
He filed a formal complaint with American and the FAA over this incident, but nothing was ever done about it
Shortly before the plane was taken out of service, the mechanic noticed paint bubbling around an engine from corrosion, which was the trigger for the situation
He says that he doesn’t want the manager to be fired, noting “American wants mechanics to look away and not address [safety issues],” so it’s a systemic issue

American confirms that the manager has been suspended pending an investigation, and says that “the actions captured here do not reflect caring and respect, core values we expect all of our team members to show each other.”

For what it’s worth, this incident happened late last year. At the moment American is having serious issues with their mechanics, accusing the union of trying to “illegally gain leverage in contract negotiations by directing a coordinated and deliberate illegal slowdown focused on the maintenance operation.” This topic has resulted in management filing a lawsuit against the union.

While the issue has been going on for a while, it’s anyone’s guess to what extent this situation is related to the current dispute.

(Tip of the hat to Marc_ORD)

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Caroline Guest

June 16, 2019, 1:19 pm

@Ahmed, sure it is in his contract but he can put in extra hours to fix the problem or declare the aircraft unfit to fly if it is the case.I thought the employee's remark was not appropriate for his industry.(I would say the same for the Medical/Hospital industry and wherever Safety is a crucial part of the job) At AA they also need to hire proper managers who are soft spoken, polite and with inter personal skills.There is no way you ll get the best from people yelling at them

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Ahmed Guest

June 16, 2019, 12:52 pm

@Caroline: he says he works eight hours because that's in his contract. He has no obligation to work any longer. AA can find another mechanic to fix the issue.

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Ahmed Guest

June 16, 2019, 12:48 pm

Why are people chewing out Ben here? He did provide context (perhaps not at first, but eventually). And even without any context, it is worth posting as it highlights a hostile work environment at AA, which shouldn't exist. Whoever said this happens in automotive factories everyday, well, it shouldn't happen there either. What's wrong with you people? Why do you support the existence of hostile workplaces?

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M Guest

June 15, 2019, 9:51 am

Your right! These spectators probably have the utmost respect for their BMW mechanics but yet a professional aircraft tech gets none.

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Eli Guest

June 15, 2019, 9:02 am

I just can’t stand reading through some of these comments about not understanding the context so you must “infer”, then proceed to bash mechanics for doing their jobs, yet you’re not mechanics. I am an aircraft mechanic, but I don’t work for American, so my ideologies may somewhat seem semi-biased. However, I work on planes everyday, where I am not protected by a union, and so I understand what the mechanic in the video is talking about. Management, no matter where you work, will put their performance goals way before yours. Safety plays a major role in this industry and of course we understand safety can be stretched with MELs and CDLs, until it’s no longer deemed airworthy. However, if I ever write something up because I have determined it is unsafe or requires further evaluation, I don’t care who you are, this A&P certificate grants me the right to take this plane out of service, so don’t ever come at me the wrong way for it. If I see hydraulic fluid leaking from a strut, and management tells me to wipe it off and send the plane into the skies, it is my signature that states the plane is safe for service. Not yours, not anybody else’s. Then if that gear fails, it is now my license and livelihood that is jeapordize... NOT YOURS NOT ANYBODY ELSES. So please skip all the nonsense about the mechanic, and his true intentions of gaining leverage in a labor dispute. It may be true, but corrosion is corrosion, and if you spot it, write it up, because when an incident occurs because of that buildup up of corrosion, you’re gonna be the first person they wish to speak to you.

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