Photos: When good airplanes go bad

Over the last few days, American Airlines has had to cancel more than 3,000 flights, all of which were on Boeing MD-80s, the carrier's most common airplane. The cancellations came as a result of the airline's decision to undergo a system-wide maintenance review of its MD-80s "related to the bundling of wires in the aircraft's wheel wells."

American said in a press release that the inspections were "based on (Federal Aviation Administration) audits (and) are related to detailed, technical compliance issues and not safety-of-flight issues."

According to the airline's release, the FAA was concerned about how American was inspecting its MD-80s and "the manner in which American followed the engineering change order...that had been written for the airworthiness directive related to the wiring in the MD-80s wheel wells.

Areas of concern included the spacing of the ties on the wiring bundle and the direction in which the retention clips and lacing cords were facing."

American further said that it's directing teams of aviation maintenance technicians, quality assurance inspectors, and engineers to make sure its MD-80s meet all compliance requirements. If planes are found not to be complying, it said, they will be removed from service immediately until they are compliant.