Lawsuit accuses United of ‘near-death’ cover-up on flight to London
United Airlines has been hit with a lawsuit claiming it covered up an incident that could have claimed all lives aboard a transatlantic flight last year.
Flight 931 was traveling from Chicago to London when it was forced to make an emergency landing in Canada on October 27.
Passengers were then stuck on the tarmac for eight hours until a replacement aircraft arrived.
Plaintiff Theodore Liaw, who was a passenger on the flight, described ‘a terrifyingly rapid descent’ in the lawsuit.
"Utter silence filled the plane, as the various passengers gripped their arm-rests with white knuckles during this episode. Many aboard thought they were going to die," it said.
He said the reason United gave for the plane’s diversion was false.
United said a ‘bird hit the windshield’ but Liaw claims the pilots gave a different version of events.
The suit alleges the cockpit window shattered due to a maintenance failure, leaving just one layer intact, and one pilot had to apply pressure against to save it from breaking.
"Had that last layer disappeared, both pilots would have likely been sucked out of the plane and Flight 931’s passengers would have been doomed," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit is seeking damages for ‘bodily injury and severe emotional distress as a result of United’s negligence’.
Laiw claims he suffered a back injury on landing and now has a fear of flying.
United offered each passenger a $500 voucher as compensation for the delay.
The airline is still investigating the incident.
"At United, safety is our top priority and we diverted the aircraft due to an issue with the cockpit window," it said in a statement, but would not comment further due to the pending lawsuit.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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