American Rechecks Evacuation Slides

Maintenance crews from American Airlines last week began to inspect, remove and repackage evacuation slides on around 270 McDonell Douglas MD-80s. The tail section slides had been packed using an incorrect tool on a handful of MD-80s, forcing the carrier to inspect its entire fleet. According FAA accounts, a mechanic who filed a confidential safety report with the agency and airline initially brought the installation error to light. FAA then urged American to take swift action to remedy any problems with other MD-80s. The agency says that it found no safety threats because the voluntary checks uncovered any immediate issues. According to American, the maintenance work, scheduled to occur over the next few weeks, should not affect flight schedules.
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