Says Shattered Windshield Could Have Resulted In Loss Of Airplane He Was Aboard

A passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 931 from Chicago to London on October 27, 2018 has sued the airline for allegedly covering up a situation that could have resulted in the loss of the airplane.

Passenger Theodore Liaw, who lives in San Francisco, CA filed the suit Wednesday. In the filing, he says he learned about the seriousness of the issue from the pilots flying the plane, and says the airline is "lying to everyone about what happened", according to a report from Fox News.

The plane, a Boeing 767-300, was diverted to Goose Bay, Canada after a windshield in the cockpit shattered. The airline says that the damage was caused by a bird strike, but Liaw says in his suit that the aircraft was flying at 40,000 feet, and no bird would have been flying that high. He says that "the cause of the shattered cockpit window was the negligence of a United airplane mechanic. That mechanic had over-torqued the bolts of the cockpit window while the plane was on the ground. 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." He says that "(the) co-pilot quickly pushed his weight against what was left of the third and last layer of the cockpit window, which may have prevented the entire window from breaking during the descent to Goose Bay. 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."

Liaw says in his suit United offered $500 vouchers to the passengers along with a document releasing the airline from all liability. Liaw rejected the offer and filed the lawsuit. He is claiming unspecified damages for "bodily injury, severe emotional distress, mental injury, and physical manifestations of injury caused by, or arising out of, the accident."

United released a statement to Fox News saying that they the aircraft was diverted due to an issue with the cockpit window and landed safely. They are investigating the incident, but are unable to comment further due to the pending litigation.

(Image provided with Liaw complaint)

FMI: Complaint, Fox News report