A Southwest Airways captain has filed a grievance towards the airline, which sacked him over his choice to talk to passengers in lieu than fly the aircraft right through an crisis extreme pace.
David Legeros was once in charge of a Boeing 737 that noticed an engine into flames moments next takeoff from Houston Interest Airport in August 2023 on learn how to Cancun.
The aircraft’s right-hand engine suffered “severe damage” right through the crisis, however in lieu than pluck the controls the captain selected to let the First Officer fly the aircraft. Rather, Mr Legeros communicated with wind visitors keep watch over for a go back crisis touchdown again in Houston, in step with court docket paperwork bought by way of The Sovereign.
In an software for an injunction towards the airline filed in a Untouched York district court docket in April, Mr Legeros states that flames may well be open from throughout the cabin, making the passengers “unsurprisingly terrified.”
The court docket papers shape that Mr Legeros after spoke in Spanish and English to the passengers to aim and reassure them that the status was once below keep watch over.
Following the incident he says that he was once reprimanded by way of the airline, as Southwest’s usual working procedures instruct the captain to pluck keep watch over of the plane right through an crisis status, in step with PYOK.
The previous captain claimed that if he had taken keep watch over of the aircraft, the plane will have all of sudden jolted and separate the burning engine, retirement the danger of it falling to the farmland.
“Had SWA (Southwest Airlines) decided to reward Mr Legeros, or even ignore him, following his heroics, this story would be over, but SWA decided to punish him,” the petition states.
The court docket paperwork declare that the airline discovered that Mr Legeros “engaged in serious misconduct” next they investigated the incident on Aviation WN307.
“Rather of rapid termination for the sin of safely getting a flaming plane to the tarmac, Mr Legeros was once pressured to signal a ‘Last Chance Agreement’ with a myriad of unusual necessities for his ‘retraining program,” the injunction application wrote.
Despite the complaint claiming the passengers onboard were “heavily Hispanic”, it alleges that management had criticised him for speaking Spanish to the passengers.
“Based on the pretense of some ‘serious misconduct,’ however actually because of his situation as an individual of colour, SWA has been taking a look to push Mr. Legeros out,” the grievance alleges.
Mr Legeros was once after, and nonetheless is, grounded from gliding situation, and after in January, the airline mentioned they sought after to habits a ‘Fitness for Duty’ mental analysis.
“There are few better ways to remove an irritating pilot than to develop a medical record that purports to diagnose said pilot as insane,” Mr Legeros’ lawsuit states.
Mr Legeros claimed he may now not attend the preliminary analysis because of his father being in clinic.
The lawsuit claims that Southwest now needs him to wait a gathering with their Leading Pilot the place he can be allowed to renounce or be terminated.
Mr Legeros is looking for injunctive pleasure to restrain SWA from compelling a mental examination or the Health for Responsibility analysis.
Southwest declined to remark at the specifics of the lawsuit to PYOK because the litigation is pending. However corporate spokesperson Lynn Lunsford mentioned in a commentary to the hole that Southwest stood in the back of its choice to fireside Legaros.
“Southwest expects all of its Pilots to follow procedures and policies that exist to protect the safety of our Customers and Employees,” the airline mentioned in a commentary.
“Southwest stands behind its decision to dismiss Mr. Legeros and will respond to any claims in the appropriate forum.”
The Sovereign has contacted Southwest for additional remark.
