Alaska 737 MAX 9 blowout pilot sues Boeing for defamation

In the lawsuit, filed on 30 December, lawyers for Fisher – who has himself been sued by two passengers – say that he and his first officer, Emily Wiprud, “landed the aircraft safely despite harrowing circumstances in the cockpit”.

“They should have been hailed as heroes. Instead, The Boeing Company attempted to shift blame, intentionally and falsely claiming that Captain Fisher and First Officer Wiprud made mistakes that contributed to the incident,” the court filing reads.

“Boeing’s reaction betrayed the lack of corporate integrity that has become all too clear in the wake of other recent, and often deadly, manufacturing mistakes. Boeing’s actions have had a dramatic and life-altering impact on Captain Fisher.

“Captain Fisher brings this suit to hold Boeing and its complicit subcontractor, Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. accountable for what they have done to him and the danger that their actions posed to the public. In the absence of integrity, Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems must find consequence.”

The suit claims that Boeing’s “negligence and systemic failures resulted in the creation of an unsafe aircraft not fit for flight”, which resulted in the decompression event.

Boeing subsequently claimed in its response to a lawsuit brought by passengers that it should not be held liable because its products had been “improperly maintained or misused by persons and/or entities other than Boeing”.

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“Boeing knew this statement was false at the time it was made, but made it anyway as part of its often-used post-accident strategy to blame pilots for incidents caused solely by its own actions,” the filing read.

“It was clear Boeing’s words were directed at Captain Fisher in attempt to paint him as the scapegoat for Boeing’s numerous failures.

“Because [subsequent news] articles contained a link to Boeing’s answer, the entire world could see that Boeing believed Captain Fisher and others were responsible for the incident, despite Captain Fisher’s heroic actions that led to a safe emergency landing.

“This accusation, despite its lacking any semblance of truth, only heightened the emotional impact and distress experienced by Captain Fisher.”

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) last year said the probable cause of the blowout was Boeing’s failure to “provide adequate training, guidance and oversight” to its factory workers, also blaming the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for failing to ensure Boeing fixed “repetitive and systemic” nonconformance issues associated with its parts removal process.