Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Pilot sues flight attendants over safety
Three Phoenix-based flight attendants are in the unusual position of defending themselves from pilot-instigated litigation. Of course, they deserve it. I mean, what would you do when people responsible for passenger safety report safety concerns to federal regulators? Either you can fix a problem or you can sue. Since the pilot is obviously a proud American, he chose the latter course. And, he's now proving his patriotism by messing with the media. America West Flight 851 was about to leave Calgary, Alberta back in 2003. The flight attendants were worried about frost on the wings, but the pilots saw no need to de-ice before take-off. Eventually, the guys at the front of the plane gave in, but the flight attendants were worried enough by the incident to report it to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Looking back on the crash in Buffalo a little over a week ago, this looks like a decent idea.
First Officer Ed Gannon didn't see it that way, even after he was cleared by the FAA (which offered to pick up the tab for some of his legal fees).
Now, I am somewhat sympathetic to Gannon (sorry, Heather). I'm not plane-savvy enough to know if the FAs had a good point or if they were intruding on the pilot's turf. Even though the FAA cleared the guy, he still had his life at least inconvenienced by the flight attendants. And, let's be realistic. Being sued is not something you can just brush off.
Assume you feel you've done nothing wrong, and you have to spend thousands of dollars to make that point. Yeah, you'd be pissed. You'd want a bit of payback.
If Gannon wanted to make a point, filing the suit was enough. The fact that the judge tossed out some of his arguments (including "infliction of emotional distress") suggests that he shouldn't push too hard (the defamation bit is still in play). Instead, however, he's upping the ante.
The seemingly wronged pilot has subpoenaed reporters' notes from the Phoenix New Times, not to mention any documents supplied by the flight attendants who are being sued. Gannon has also gone after the FAs' blog, hunting for information about the people who have posted comments on the site.
Imagine getting a call from a lawyer because you posted a comment on this story ... scary, isn't it?
Gannon's made his point. It's time for him to put all this in the past (hell, it happened six years ago). If you feel strongly about this, consider a contribution to the FAs' legal defense fund.
Check out these other stories from the airport checkpoint!
Filed under: Activism, Blogs, North America, United States, Airlines, News
Reader Comments (Page 7 of 7)
anonymous Feb 25th 2009 6:02PM
While I believe that everyone is entitled to their opinion,I expect that all 'journalists' regardless of their position should provide accurate information when writing.Mr Johansmeyer,the flights attendants(or whatever or hateful names you may have for them) did not report the pilots to the FAA.They brought up the incident to the Station Rep who in turn reported the pilots to the FAA.The FA's were then required to submit their reports to FAA.Secondly you also conveniently forgot to mention that the de-icing crew submitted a statement to the FAA during the investigation that they suggested de-icing to the cockpit crew,they were turned down,only to have the plane turn around and come back for the de-icing.Most importantly you did not mention the fact that the cockpit crew initially refused to even inspect the wings,but only came out after the FA's lied and said passengers were asking about it.Then he begrudgingly obliged.If he didn't think it was that serious then why did he agree? Maybe you didn't forget to mention this or rather you Sir,just simply didn't know about this and came to the conclusion that the FA's are dumb who know nothing.Crew Resource Management was brought into training for both cockpit and cabin crew so they can comminuicate and work together to ensure the safety of the passengers.The cockpit is not equipped with rearview mirrors to see the wings.The cabin crew are the ears,nose and eyes of the cockpit.I applaud the FA's actions.If you look at many of the plane crashes up until the 80's,there is one common factor:the cabin crew or first officer's concerns were dismissed(the most tragic example being the Tenerife disaster;the cockpit crew on KLM).The case was eventually dropped by the FAA and Gannon was reimbursed part of his legal fees as they saw fit.This is all in the joy of flying in this day and age.This to me just sounds like a case of a bruised ego.
Next time maybe your work won't be as biased eh?
Flight Attendant Feb 25th 2009 9:47PM
Lets remind the flying public that pilots are constantly pushed to complete on time flights no matter what. If you meet a flight attendant out , away from her workplace...ask her if she's afraid to fly due to pilots being distracted and careless. Ask her if she fears for her/his life and how often. We are encouraged to speak up when we see something. If there is active precipitaion, deicing is A MUST. The FAA only let this guy off the hook because there was no proof and in the end he did the right thing by deicing the darned aircraft....if the pilots did deice, then who was in the wrong?
Kevin Feb 26th 2009 1:39PM
Oh those poor F/A's, they have to put up with all of those paying passangers. you know, the one's that keep the plane in the air. most of those people not only make terrible F/A's and would have made even worse waiters. shut up and pass out the snacks.
LeRoy Feb 27th 2009 4:57PM
Where is all the CRM in this?? When teaching the course one of the issues that comes up is the team efforts necessary to make a flight safe.
There are so many mishaps that could have been prevented if everyone worked as a team.
Probably would never know if the icing would have caused a problem, but then would we need to take a chance?
Angela Feb 27th 2009 3:50PM
I disagree with you, Sean. In 1989, an Air Ontario flight crashed because of ice on the wings and insufficient fuel. There were few survivors. One survivor was a flight attendant who noticed that there was ice, but didn't feel comfortable confronting the captain. She felt that he knew better than she about the airworthiness of the airplane. Turns out, she was wrong and people died. I've been a flight attendant for some time and, although I have never felt that I needed to question a pilot's professional judgment, I wouldn't hesitate to if the need arose. It's my life on that plane! If the flight attendants filed a complaint with the FAA, that is within their right, as well. Safety first and always.