5 October 2012 Last updated at 04:52 ET

American Airlines cancels flights due to faulty chairs

American said the affected chairs were "not as robust" as more recent designs

American Airlines has cancelled 94 flights as it works to fix passenger seats that could come loose.

The move comes after a flight from Boston to Miami had to make an emergency landing last weekend after a block of three seats disconnected from the floor.

American said the problem affected 48 Boeing 757s, and that it hoped to have them back in service by Saturday.

The faulty seats had recently been refurbished.

The Federal Aviation Administration is now continuing to investigate the issue.

American Airlines' vice president of safety, David Campbell, said the seats in question had been used for 20 years without incident until now.

Yet he admitted that "the fundamental design of this seat is not as robust as some of the latest designs".

The seats were manufactured by a company called Weber Aircraft, which is also investigating the matter.

American is the third-largest airline in the US. Its parent company, AMR, has been in US bankruptcy protection since November last year.