Personal Injury Blog

US Airways Pilots Allege Airline Tried to Force Unsafe Flight Increasing the Risks of Aitcraft Crash

July 26th, 2011
risks of aircraft crash

The aircraft had several defects

US Airways pilots are accusing the airline of trying to force a pilot to fly on a transatlantic flight, even when the aircraft had several defects that increased the risks of aircraft crash.  The pilots’ union has taken out a full-page ad in USA Today documenting the incident.

According to the ad by the US Airline Pilots Association, the airline had tried to force the pilot to fly a Transatlantic flight on June 16.  The plane, an Airbus 350, is capable of carrying up to 300 passengers, and was supposed to fly from Philadelphia to Rome.  However, the pilot noticed that the both the backup power sources, the auxiliary power unit and the hot battery bus, had failed.  She refused to operate the flight.

The pilot was escorted out of the airport by airline security.  Soon after, the airline tried to get other pilots to operate the flight, but they also refused to fly.  The plane was put under repairs, and then put into operation.

All this information is enough to concern any Los Angeles plane crash lawyer, and is contained in a full-page ad that the US Airline Pilots Association has taken out in USA Today.  According to the US Airline Pilots Association, the company has a policy in place that seeks to push employees to fly airplanes, regardless of the risk to the safety of passengers and crew members.  According to the ad, US Airways is pressuring its labor unions beyond limits, even when it is aware that there is a risk to passenger safety.

The US Airline Pilots Association has pointed out to the deteriorating safety culture at the airline several times before.  The union has long called for the resignation of Paul Morrell the safety chief of US Airways, saying that the safety standards at the airline have declined since he stepped in.  The pilots say that safety standards have deteriorated rapidly since 2005 after the merger with America West. USA Today has refused to terminate Morrell.

Among the issues that the US Airlines Pilots Association has taken up with the company has been that the airline’s 767 planes are not equipped with a satellite phone.  Pilots insist that this is a problem on Rio flights because the pilot not in contact with dispatchers.  While failing to equip the plane with a satellite phone is not illegal, that doesn’t mean that it is safe.  The union is also upset about the fact that airline officials question basic safety decisions that captains and pilots make.

US Airways has responded to the ad, saying that this is one of the tactics that the airline labor unions have adopted in their contract negotiations with the company.  US Airways is currently locked in contract negotiations with its unions, since the company merged with America West in 2005.

 

 

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