NEW YORK, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Federal prosecutors in New York filed a $1 million lawsuit against American Airlines alleging the airline risked passenger safety with a fuel leak.
The lawsuit, made public Thursday, said American Airlines failed to sufficiently inspect and repair a leak observed by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector while on a flight in November 2003 from Orlando, Fla., to La Guardia Airport in New York.
The lawsuit said the inspector notified the pilot and made sure the pilot was aware of the leak so it would be noted in the maintenance log -- a mandatory FAA procedure, the New York Post reported Friday.
The inspector contacted the airline to find out what action had been taken and he was told "no corrective action had been taken," court papers said.
The lawsuit alleges the plane made 53 additional trips before a scheduled maintenance detected a fuel leak in the same spot where the inspector had reported the earlier leak.
American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said right after the plane landed in New York "a qualified mechanic was dispatched to the aircraft and conducted an inspection of the entire wing, finding no evidence of a fuel leak."
Since no leak was found, the plane was put back into service, Wagner said.
