Commercial aviation hasn’t had the best safety record in recent years, but the tireless efforts of federal regulators are not going unnoticed. A Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector filed a lawsuit against United Airlines last week. The lawsuit centers on a 2022 flight in which the federal employee was removed from the plane before takeoff and suspended for life. The inspector is seeking damages of $12.75 million.
It involved a six-hour flight from San Francisco to Lihue in Hawaii. According to View From The WingOur intrepid off-duty inspector, Paul Asmus, snapped a photo of a torn seatback pocket and a passenger standing in the middle of the aisle as the plane was pushed back through the gate. The cabin crew thought he was just an unruly passenger looking for an upgrade. The captain got involved and threatened to kick the inspector off the plane unless Asmus showed him the photos. He obeyed, and the captain returned to the gate anyway.
The FA charges against Asmus were dropped
Frankly, having the passenger with the phone off and taking pictures of the cabin is not common for an off-duty FAA inspector. The cabin crew is conditioned to treat any strange passenger as potentially unruly. However, the captain’s harsh removal from the flight and the subsequent actions United took afterward were ridiculous based on the claims made. It would not be the first time that a captain has gone on a power trip. In 2023, an Air Canada captain kicked two passengers off a flight for refusing to sit in their vomit and asking for cleaning supplies.
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