The airline pilot who safely landed a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane after a panel blew off its side in mid-air in 2024 is now suing the plane maker.
Alaska Airlines’ Captain Brandon Fisher alleges in a lawsuit filed in Oregon that Boeing’s attempts to not be held liable for the incident led to the pilot himself being sued by some passengers, causing him great distress, according to a new report from the Associated Press.
“It was clear Boeing’s words were directed at Captain Fisher in attempt to paint him as the scapegoat for Boeing’s numerous failures,” Fisher’s lawyers wrote in the pilot’s lawsuit, according to the AP.
The incident occurred in January 2024 aboard Alaska Airlines flight 1282. Fortunately none of the 177 people onboard the plane were killed. Officials at both the NTSB and FAA praised Fisher for landing the plane safely and helping ensure no deaths occurred from the serious accident.
However, in the lawsuit Fisher’s lawyers say Boeing attempted to avoid liability by saying the plane was “improperly maintained or misused” by others, the AP reports.
The NTSB found that the panel, known as a door plug, was missing four bolts that were supposed to secure it to the aircraft. But the agency’s report found Boeing at fault for the mistake for failure to “provide adequate training, guidance and oversight” to its factory workers.
Fisher is not the first crewmember on the ill-fated flight to sue the plane manufacturer. Last summer, four flight attendants who were also on the plane sued Boeing as well for damages for personal injury, medical expenses, emotional distress, and loss of earnings.
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