AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT FORCED TO LAND IN IRELAND AFTER PASSENGER SMELL SMOKE.
Another American Airlines flight has been forced to make an emergency landing after a passenger smelled smoke mid-flight.

American Airlines Flight 98 was supposed to fly non-stop from Chicago to London, but was diverted to Ireland after a passenger reported a 'smoky odour.'

The incident is only the latest in a series of dangerous malfunctions American Airlines' fleet has suffered in the last few days, which have included rows of seats coming loose on several planes.

Faulty flight: Another American Airlines flight has been forced to make an emergency landing after a passenger smelled smoke mid-flight

The flight was carrying 246 passengers and 14 crew members.

'The flight was on its way to Heathrow and there was a report of smoke in the cabin,' spokesman Ian Bradley told MailOnline.

'No one saw any smoke, there was just a smell. You don't take chances with something like that.'

The flight landed at Ireland's Shannon Airport where an inspection of the scent took place.

Mechanics determined that an overhead fan had overheated and the fan was removed.

 The passengers were given accommodation in Ireland, Mr Bradley said, and will finish their journey on the same aircraft first thing tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, a total of ten American Airlines planes have been grounded following concerns over the safety of passengers after two flights had to make emergency landings when rows of seats came loose.

There were two separate incidents in which passenger seats came loose mid-flight on American Airlines planes in the last three days. No passengers were injured.

As a result, the struggling airline announced that it has temporarily grounded an additional eight planes for evaluation.

Fright: On Saturday, a Miami-bound flight took off from Boston when the row of seats became unhinged and slid around the cabin, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing at New York City's JFK Airport.

The airline, whose parent AMR Corp filed for bankruptcy protection in November, said that they have been working with federal safety administrations to make sure that all of their planes are up to par.

'There are at least a dozen reasons why a row of seats could become loose. We are in contract with the FAA, and the FAA is aware of our internal review. Safety is our top priority. We never have, nor will we, compromise the safety and reliability of our fleet,'

Company spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said in an emailed statement that an initial internal investigation 'indicated that there could be a possible issue with a certain model of seats and how they fit into the tracking used to secure the seats'.

The seats were installed by American Airlines maintenance and maintenance contractors and the issue does not seem to be tied to any one maintenance facility or group, the company said.

The problems began on Saturday when a Miami-bound flight took off from Boston and a row of seats became unhinged. They slid around the cabin, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing at New York City's JFK Airport.

Trend: The incident is only the latest in a series of dangerous malfunctions American Airlines' fleet has suffered in the last few days.

A second plane was discovered to have loose seats on Monday after taking off for Miami and was forced to return to JFK.

Flight 443 left Kennedy at 7.11 am and returned to the gate around an hour later. After a delay of two hours, passengers continued on their journey.

Airline and government officials discouraged speculation that the incidents could be related to labor-management tension at American, which is cutting labor costs and laying off maintenance workers as it tries to turn around under bankruptcy protection.

'No one saw any smoke, there was just a smell. 

You don't take chances with something like that.'

American Airlines Spokesman Ian Bradley

The airline, which began implementing cost cuts for its pilots last month, has had to cancel hundreds of flights recently due to an increase in pilot-initiated maintenance requests and sick leave usage.

American Airlines said on September 27 that it warned its pilots union it would take legal action if the union fails to ensure the airline operates smoothly.

Last week American accused some pilots of conducting an illegal work slowdown that has led to a spike in delayed and canceled flights. The airline threatened to take the pilots' union to court.

The delays and cancellations have annoyed passengers, but even the hint of mechanical issues could frighten them away and even threaten American's existence, experts said.

'These things can kill an airline,' said George Hobica, founder of travel website airfarewatchdog.com.

'With a delay or cancellation, you're sitting on the ground. (With loose seats) if the plane hits turbulence, people go flying.'