Boeing faces $10m lawsuit from Alaska Airlines pilot who landed 737 MAX after door plug blew out at 14k ft
SOURCE:Daily Mail
The Alaska Airlines pilot who successfully landed a Boeing 737 MAX plane after a door plug flew off mid-air two years ago is now suing the airplane manufacturer.
The Alaska Airlines pilot who successfully landed a Boeing 737 MAX plane after a door plug flew off mid-air two years ago is now suing the airplane manufacturer.
Brandon Fisher filed a $10 million lawsuit against the company in Multnomah County Circuit Court on December 30, alleging that Boeing tried to shift the blame on to him for the mid-air depressurization of Flight 1282 on January 5, 2024, which put the lives of 171 passengers and six crew members at risk.
Fisher and his First Officer Emily Wiprud immediately declared an emergency and descended to below 10,000 feet so that there would be enough oxygen for everyone to breathe normally.
They were then able to land safely in Portland, Oregon, and none of the passengers or crew members were seriously injured.
'But for Captain Fisher's heroism and immense display of composure under pressure, the outcome would have been catastrophic,' the lawsuit argues, according to Business Insider.
'Instead, Captain Fisher and First Officer Wiprud executed a safe emergency landing, despite chaotic conditions in the cockpit caused by the gaping hole in the left side of the aircraft.'
'They should have been hailed as heroes,' it continues. 'Instead, The Boeing Company attempted to shift blame, intentionally and falsely claiming that Captain Fisher and First Officer Wiprud made mistakes that contributed to the incident.'
The suit points to a court filing Boeing issued while defending itself against a class-action lawsuit in connection with the incident, in which the company said it was not responsible for the loss of the door plugs because the plane had been 'improperly maintained or misused by persons and/or entities other than Boeing.'
The American Airlines pilot who successfully landed a Boeing 737 MAX plane after a door plug flew off mid-air two years ago, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the aircraft, is now suing the airplane manufacturer
Captain Brandon Fisher alleges that Boeing tried to shift the blame on to him for the mid-air depressurization of Flight 1282 on January 5, 2024, which put the lives of 171 passengers and six crew members at risk
But Fisher argues the damage was already done, claiming the company's statement was intended to 'paint him as the scapegoat for Boeing's numerous failures.'
'Instead of praising Captain Fisher's bravery, Boeing inexplicably impugned the reputation of the pilots,' the lawsuit says, noting that Fisher was scrutinized for his role in the incident and named in two separate lawsuits filed by passengers of the doomed flight in the aftermath.
However, a National Transportation Safety Board probe found that the Alaska Airlines crew was not at fault for the incident - and instead blamed manufacturers for allowing the plane to be put in operation without four key bolts that were meant to hold the door plug in place.
Just one of those bolts, if properly secured, would have held the door panel in place, and the other three were supposed to be used as an additional safety mechanism.
But without any, the panel had shifted slightly upward during earlier flights, but not enough for any crew members to notice a difference when they did their final safety inspections before takeoff.
Nobody onboard suffered serious injuries from the incident
A National Transportation Safety Board probe blamed manufacturers for allowing the plane to be put in operation without four key bolts that were meant to hold the door plug in place
Fisher's lawsuit now claims that Boeing technicians noticed five rivets were improperly installed in the panel, and that employees at Spirit AeroSystems - a subcontractor that worked on the plane - painted over the rivets instead of reinstalling them properly, the Oregonian reports.
Boeing inspectors once again caught the discrepancy, the lawsuit claims, but when employees finally repaired the panel to fix the rivets, they failed to reattach the four bolts that secured the door panel.
'Unbeknownst to Captain Brandon Fisher, who was the pilot in command, or any of the passengers onboard, the defendants' negligence and systemic failures resulted in the creation of an unsafe aircraft not fit for flight, culminating in the horrific decompression event shortly after takeoff,' the suit alleges.
It goes on to claim Boeing was aware of other 'explosive decompression events,' prior to the incident onboard the Alaska Airlines flight, including one in which a passenger onboard a Southwest Airlines flight died after he was 'partially ejected' through a hole in the fuselage, according to KOIN.
An investigator examines the frame on a section of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282
It was revealed that the faulty door left Boeing's factory in Renton, Washington without the crucial bolts, as only one of 24 technicians employed at the facility had experience opening a door plug in the past, but was on vacation during its last service
Boeing is also facing a Department of Justice investigation into the terrifying event, as well as lawsuits filed by the passengers and flight attendants onboard
The suit then concludes by saying Fisher has endured 'lasting physical consequences' and is unable to sustain physical activity for as long as he could before the incident.
It also claims he still thinks about 'the troubling events that occurred.'
As a result, Fisher is seeking damages for negligence, strict products liability, breach of warranty, emotional distress and defamation.
But since the incident, the airplane manufacturer has improved training and processes, according to the NTSB, though board officials said the company needs to better identify manufacturing risks to make sure such flaws never sneak through again.
They recommended last year that Boeing continues to improve its training and safety standards and make sure everyone knows when actions must be documented.
Board members also highlighted the need to ensure that everyone throughout the company understands its safety plan as well as executives do.
The board also urged the FAA to step up and make sure its audits and inspections address key areas based on past problems and systemic issues.
The FAA said in a statement at the time that it 'has fundamentally changed how it oversees Boeing since the Alaska Airlines door-plug accident and we will continue this aggressive oversight to ensure Boeing fixes its systemic production-quality issues.
'We are actively monitoring Boeing's performance and meet weekly with the company to review its progress and any challenges it's facing in implementing necessary changes.'
Daily Mail approached Boeing, which completed its acquisition of most of co-defendant Spirit AeroSystems in December, for comment. A company representative said it will not comment on pending litigation.