CNN: AA says seat issue caused by cola, coffee

good thing AA cleaned those seats after the spills! gross

Utter rubbish. This was caused by shoddy maintenance. There is no way on this earth that the locking mechanism can come undone just by spilling beverages on the tracks. As a very long in the tooth AME, pushing my 76th year but retired, I can honestly say that what AA would have you believe is pure BS. This mechanism has been largely unchanged for going on forty plus years. If it is locked down and the secondary latch is in place then the seat will stay put. However, if the latch is put in backward there is nothing to stop the seats from sliding out of the track and tipping.

I had a company Chief Petty Officer who had a little mast with flags on his desk. If you were trying to sell him a line, he'd reach over, pull on the halyard, and raise the Bravo and Sierra signal flags. I haven't even read the article, and that image popped in my head.

They must think the public is really gullible. Soda and coffee eh? Every seat position and track had the same cause? That's pretty good aiming if you ask me. I bet someone can do a statistical study on the probability of such a scenario.

My mind says it aint so. Either that, or those craft are very dirty and inviting bugs, black mold, ect. Raise the flags Jeremy!

Nothing has been said here but I wonder, were these the new seats that were installed some time back to give more legroom? I noticed these were on one group of planes and all went to contract at TIMCO in GSO to be done. They ain't no fly by night outfit. They might not be AA but they are definitely not offshore. That said, there is something here not being told, and while the soda pop may be a contributing factor and just being cleaned out while they are in there, I too would have a hard time believing it is the sole cause and sure as hell wouldn't put it out on National Media.

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11 witty and sage airline 'gunk' retorts

Spilled beverage 'gunk' as an explanation for American Airlines recent airline seat malfunction isn't sitting well with many costumers

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/05/travel/american-airlines-seat-tweets/index.html

While I can understand the concept of fouling and perhaps "dirt" interfereing with installation and proper "locking" of a part into place during the actual work I find it difficult to believe that fouling or dirt can cause a locking mechanism to release. I guess part of the whole deal is having "Spin Doctors" on the payroll to divert the attention from shoddy maintenance practices?

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American Airlines: 'Gunk' from spilled drinks partly to blame for loose seats

American Airlines has grounded dozens of airplanes for a second time this week due to loose passenger seats, causing nearly 100 flight cancellations on Thursday and Friday. It said it was quickly resolving the problem, which the company indicated was caused by an array of factors, including the “gunk” from drinks that get spilled.


Oh please...

http://m.nbcnews.com/travel/american-airlines-gunk-spilled-drinks-partly-blame-loose-seats-1C6305858