Boeing sued over U.S.-Poland plane that crash-landed
CHICAGO (AP) - Passengers on a plane that crash-landed in Poland last year when its landing gear failed to deploy have sued Boeing and the firm that inspected the airliner before it departed New Jersey, with one attorney saying his clients suffered severe emotional trauma from thinking they were about to die.
A lawsuit claiming both physical and psychological damage was filed this week in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, where Boeing is headquartered, contends design flaws in the 767-300 led to fluid leaking from the hydraulic system. It said workers of New York-based Mach II Maintenance should have detected it.
Around 230 people were aboard the November 2011 Lot Airlines flight when it hit the runway, sparks flying as its belly scraped the pavement at Warsaw's Chopin Airport. The pilot, Capt. Tadeusz Wrona, was later hailed as a national hero in Poland after their appeared to be no serious injuries.
But the psychological trauma was intense, as the pilot told passengers over the intercom that the crew had no choice but to land without wheels, the Chicago-area attorney representing the plaintiffs told The Associated Press on Friday.
"You've got the pilot telling them that things aren't looking good, you had people texting their loved ones saying, 'I don't know if I'll ever see you again, goodbye,' " said Floyd Wisner. "There's the terror that you are about to die."
Some of the around 80 passengers listed as plaintiffs still are plagued by nightmares, he said, and some say they can never set foot on a plane again, Wisner said, calling it "classic post-traumatic stress disorder."
People who are skeptical of such claims don't understand what his clients went through, he added.
"This is a near-death experience," he said. "That you didn't die is great. But you suffered damage from thinking you would die."
Boeing spokesman Miles Kotay declined comment, saying the company doesn't comment on ongoing litigation. A message left at the headquarters Mach II Maintenance Friday wasn't returned.
The nine-page lawsuit, which does not specify a damages figure, a comes in the wake of a preliminary report in October from Poland's State Commission for Investigation of Air Accidents that pointed to technical problems with the plane and inadequate guidance in its cockpit handbook.
The report said the main landing-gear discharge system failed due to a broken hydraulic hose, and the backup system also failed, probably because its circuit breaker was accidentally in the off position. It also said the cockpit checklist did not include guidance on what to do with a malfunction of the alternative landing gear system or if the landing gear could not be discharged.
After the report was released, Boeing said in a statement it would not comment until the final report. It added, "Boeing is committed to the safety of our airplanes and the people who fly on them." The commission didn't say when it would issue its final report.
Such a total undercarriage failure was unprecedented for a Boeing 767 and unusual overall, according to aviation data and experts.
A lawsuit claiming both physical and psychological damage was filed this week in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, where Boeing is headquartered, contends design flaws in the 767-300 led to fluid leaking from the hydraulic system. It said workers of New York-based Mach II Maintenance should have detected it.
Around 230 people were aboard the November 2011 Lot Airlines flight when it hit the runway, sparks flying as its belly scraped the pavement at Warsaw's Chopin Airport. The pilot, Capt. Tadeusz Wrona, was later hailed as a national hero in Poland after their appeared to be no serious injuries.
But the psychological trauma was intense, as the pilot told passengers over the intercom that the crew had no choice but to land without wheels, the Chicago-area attorney representing the plaintiffs told The Associated Press on Friday.
"You've got the pilot telling them that things aren't looking good, you had people texting their loved ones saying, 'I don't know if I'll ever see you again, goodbye,' " said Floyd Wisner. "There's the terror that you are about to die."
Some of the around 80 passengers listed as plaintiffs still are plagued by nightmares, he said, and some say they can never set foot on a plane again, Wisner said, calling it "classic post-traumatic stress disorder."
People who are skeptical of such claims don't understand what his clients went through, he added.
"This is a near-death experience," he said. "That you didn't die is great. But you suffered damage from thinking you would die."
Boeing spokesman Miles Kotay declined comment, saying the company doesn't comment on ongoing litigation. A message left at the headquarters Mach II Maintenance Friday wasn't returned.
The nine-page lawsuit, which does not specify a damages figure, a comes in the wake of a preliminary report in October from Poland's State Commission for Investigation of Air Accidents that pointed to technical problems with the plane and inadequate guidance in its cockpit handbook.
The report said the main landing-gear discharge system failed due to a broken hydraulic hose, and the backup system also failed, probably because its circuit breaker was accidentally in the off position. It also said the cockpit checklist did not include guidance on what to do with a malfunction of the alternative landing gear system or if the landing gear could not be discharged.
After the report was released, Boeing said in a statement it would not comment until the final report. It added, "Boeing is committed to the safety of our airplanes and the people who fly on them." The commission didn't say when it would issue its final report.
Such a total undercarriage failure was unprecedented for a Boeing 767 and unusual overall, according to aviation data and experts.
Now, you KNOW that it takes five times as many Poles to change a light bulb or fly a plane as Frenchmen, and Twice as many Frenchmen as Germans, and still they had only two pilots in the cockpit, neither of whom could read English. (Just listen to their cabin announcements the next time you are condemned to fly on Lot!)
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This is just another case of a shark/lawyer going after whomever has deep pockets to get a big settlement of which he hopes to gain 33% and thereby pay for his huge second home and the stable of luxury automobiles garages therein. The American legal system is prostituted to the sharks . . .Â
America, the sue happy capital of the world.
With the information given in the story I find it amazing they think Boeing is somehow responsible. Defective design my butt. Sounds like everyone but Boeing failed to do their jobs correctly, which is almost always the case whenever something like this happens.
I trust Boeing's more than Airbus.
Every time I fly somewhere,I will make sure that I will not be on one of those Airbus plane,
because I've been observing their plane always vibrate and making funny sounds when
it prepares for landing.
 @scychan How do you know if you never fly on them? Maybe you did once. That is hardly enough information to say they are all that way.
I think there should be a Polish model then, switch the labels for the circuit breaker so that off is on and vice versa. Problem solved?
It has been shown that the pulled circuit breaker was obscurred by a pair of boots belonging to a flight crew member.Â
Is the EU behind this lawyer?
Only flaws, Mach II Maintenance and LOT Polish Airlines!
I believe the 767 has back-up systems of electric and manual. Why was the electrical circuit breaker in the "Off" position? Pilot error? Did the pilots not use their heads and look at the breaker panel?
Nice job by the pilot. I'm sure that Boeing will include further instructions in it's landing checklists...something like "In the event the landing gear does not extend after activating the emergency extension system, locate your grab handles and hold on...it's gonna be a rough landing...good luck."Â
I guess the maintenance team for LOT Airlines has nothing to do with this at all. The landing gear has never been touched by their crew since it left Boeing.
Design flaw? Yeah because this happens ever other day with these planes right?
the design flaw, is the lack of instructions telling the aircrew to check the circuit breaker in the event that a backup system does not work.
Lawyers looking for a paycheck...Â
And the owner of the airplane was Who? Oh, LOT Airlines... And who was responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of such an airplane? Oh, LOT Airlines.... and the people are suing Boeing because the airline didn't maintain the airplane, and Boeing didn't place troubleshooting instructions inside the flight manual...
I really wonder what lawyer researched and contacted the individuals who suffered lasting injuries by not being killed in a plane accident, where no one was injured...
 @Mr. H The troubleshooting instructions are there! Also, Boeing has personal on the ground that troubleshoot and give instructions to pilots during flights.
 @Mr. H My only concession to the "victims" is that sometimes the injuries from an accident don't manifest themselves until a later time. You are usually more sore the next day after a "non-injury" accident than immediately follow it.
That being said, these people are hunting for the deepest pockets available so figured they may as well go for Boeing too instead of JUST the ones responsible for lack of maintenance.