Commercial aviation hasn’t had the best safety record over the past few years, but the tireless efforts of federal regulators aren’t going unnoticed. A Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector filed a lawsuit against United Airlines last week. The suit centers on a 2022 flight on which the federal employee was removed from the plane before takeoff and banned for life. The inspector is seeking $12.75 million in damages.
The flight in question was a six-hour service from San Francisco to Lihue in Hawaii. According to View From The Wing, our intrepid off-duty inspector, Paul Asmus, took a photo of a torn seatback pocket and a passenger standing in the middle of the aisle while the plane was being pushed back from the gate. The cabin crew thought he was just another 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 complied, and the captain returned to the gate regardless.
The FAA charges against Asmus were dropped
Asmus’ ordeal didn’t end when he was removed from the flight. United Airlines banned him from flying with the carrier again and reported him to the FAA. This is on top of the $3,153 in restitution demanded for the plane’s return to the gate. Despite being off-duty, the complaint claims that the inspector obligation to perform official duties. The FAA stripped Asmus of any safety oversight responsibilities involving United while it conducted its own investigation. However, those duties were restored after a judge dismissed the FAA’s charges against Asmus, as testimony from United’s flight attendants was deemed not credible.
In fairness, it’s not common for the passenger with the phone out, taking pictures of the cabin, to be an off-duty FAA inspector. Cabin crew have been conditioned to treat every strange passenger as potentially unruly. However, the harsh removal by the flight’s captain and later actions taken by United afterward were ridiculous based on the claims made. It wouldn’t be the first time 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 vomit and asking for cleaning supplies.
