Passenger Sues United for Near-Death Experience

A former United passenger is taking legal action against the carrier, claiming that it lied about the true reason behind an emergency diversion of a 2018 flight from Chicago to London. Passenger Theodore Liaw says that United Airlines Flight 931 was diverted due to the aircraft’s damaged cockpit window.

A passenger has taken legal action against United Airlines, claiming that it covered up the reason behind an emergency landing of a flight from Chicago to London last year, USA Today reports. The incident occurred on October 27, 2018 and involved United Airlines Flight 931.

While the carrier has said that the flight’s diversion to Canada’s Goose Bay was caused by a bird strike, passenger Theodore Liaw believes that the airline’s explanation is an attempt to cover up an emergency landing that was caused by a serious mechanical flaw: a damaged cockpit window.

Liaw, who has filed a suit against the carrier in a San Francisco court, alleges that the window was damaged after a mechanic set the bolts too tight prior to its journey. Quoting an extract from the lawsuit, the outlet reports that, “That overstressed the cockpit window and caused it to eventually lose its structural integrity when Flight 931 was approximately 40,000 feet in the air.”

The suit filed by Liaw also observed that two of the three layers of the plane’s windshield appeared to be damaged. Liaw, however, had words of praise for the flight’s co-pilot. The outlet states that this member of flight crew “used his body weight to cover the gaps in the remaining layer of glass”, something that Liaw says ensured that the window did not suffer catastrophic damage during its descent.

Liaw further said that United’s given reason behind the emergency landing was unlikely. He described the airline’s version of events as an “utterly preposterous story for numerous reasons, especially given that no birds live or fly at (40,000 feet).”

Liaw says that he has suffered both physical and mental distress as a result of the incident and wants “fair compensation from United from his close brush with death due to United’s negligence.”

Speaking to the outlet, United spokesperson Erin Benson said, “Safety is our top priority and we diverted the aircraft due to an issue with the cockpit window. The aircraft landed safely, and we are continuing to investigate this matter. Due to the pending litigation, we’re unable to comment further.”