Captain sued for damages caused by weather

[oscaralpha]

A state-owned airline in Southern Europe has sued a captain for flying his aircraft into hail during a trans-atlantic flight. The cockpit windows were fractured which caused the declaration of an emergency. The airline initially put the captain on a ten-day disciplinary leave, he replied by suing the airline for unjustifiable disciplinary action, and the airline sued him back asking for Euros 630,000 for the damages that he "caused" to the aircraft. <img src="eek.gif" border="0">

[timmcat]

Whats the saying... "it never rains...."

[Wino]

Don't think I would be too interested in going into work again for an airline that pulls that stunt, regardless of the cause.

I would "sick" untill the airline withdrew the lawsuit. Frankly I would be too nervous to go flying. Jeeze take a 100 million dollar airplane out and be liable for it personally?

That airline deserves to be shut down

Cheers. .Wino

[[email protected]]

Ummm...

As soon as someone files suit, they can pretty much expect a counter-suit. This is the way the business of civil law operates.

Now, without specific details, we can't know whether the Captain had statutory or union rights to appeal the disciplinary suspension -- and we should at least acknowledge the *possibility* that the suspension was justified.

But once the guy decided to sue his employer it's fair game for the employer to counter-sue. I'd be interested in the grounds of the pilots suit, and the amount of damages sought...

Malc.

[Only A Few More Seasons]

Balpa - wake up -- what is your veiw, or sorry, is it the NHS.

[Ignition Override]

Is it in the same country on the Med. which has jailed a few crewmembers in the past after an accident?

[MaximumPete]

There are airlines that pull worse stunts than this!!

Trust me!

MP <img src="frown.gif" border="0">

[MPH]

Zeus and his son Apollo must be still smiling at what Icarus did! I wonder what they think of this one!

[Magplug]

Was this the L-1011(?) that was sat at LYS for ages with major damage to radome and leading edges? Our engineer at LYS was told by a colleague who was involved that the airframe was almost certainly a write-off.

Call me old fashioned but could they have switched on the radar ???

[scanscanscan]

I was told a Captain of a civil airliner was the most finacially vunerable job of all.. .He was liable to the extent of his worldwide wealth for any damage to the aircraft or its contents, this included the passengers and his pension fund.. .So the normal pilot who drinks it, spends it, or fails to save it, and is always in debt, has possibly got it right.. .Also suggested was that all of the pilot assets should be in Trust, assets outside the trust should be mortaged to the maximum in the wifes name or rented.. .I was also told a lot of other good stuff which like the above I failed to follow.. .You need to be lucky as a pilot, as the hail or turb you do not see is the one that gets you.

[quickturnaround]

Fear the Greeks even when they bring you gifts! I really hope it is not OA. . .YIA SAS

[Bubbette]

I think this is about to happen in the US. A pilot I think for America West was reprimanded for flying into bad weather (when he was warned about it), and a flight attendant got hurt. She can't sue, but others probably will.

[knows]

Bloody lawyers. Leaches of society.

[ehwatezedoing]

no Magplug, not this one.

[Ignition Override]

Knows described one of our society's major threats, ranked just behind terrorists and betrunkene Passengers.

Vampire bats never advertise for your business.

[JJflyer]

Magplug... WX radar does not allways detect " dry stuff " such as hail. And sometimes a radar return gets masked by a bigger return.

Still even now Radar seems to be one of the most unused of equipment and it´s modes of operation least know by pilots ( Pilots with mil background seem to be better with it )

[Richthofen]

OK, you´d have Computer Fltplns (TP, Temp., Wind), also Wind Charts, Significant Wx Charts, SIGMETS, FCSTs and WX Radar, sometimes there are even cockpit windows fitted to certain aircrafts and

most airliner cockpits contain at least 1.5 human beings probably holding licences based on exams.

So what made this guy flying through hailstorms ?

[Bob Hawke]

Off topic, but oh so relevent; lawyers are the snots in the nose of society. It will be scary if this goes against the pilot. The law is an ass, and commonsense is a hinderance. I hope it works out ok for him.

ON ON.