An ex-United Airlines pilot who was terminated by the Chicago-based carrier following an abnormal landing that left one of the airline’s aging fleet of Boeing 767s with such severe damage that it took seven months to be repaired is now suing the airline for defamation.
Romullo Silva filed his lawsuit against United Airlines earlier this week in a New Jersey district court, demanding damages of at least $100,000 over claims that the airline made false statements to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the aftermath of the accident.
The lawsuit stems from an incident on July 29, 2023, when Silva was the pilot flying a Boeing 767 from Newark to Houston Intercontinental Airport as flight UA702 with 193 passengers onboard.
According to a preliminary accident report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as the aircraft landed, the nose wheel made contact with the runway with an “abnormal force” equivalent to a gravitational force of 1.4g.
The aircraft then bounced, and despite Silva’s attempts to stop the aircraft from impacting the runway with force for a second time, the nose gear again slammed into the tarmac with a gravitational force equivalent to around 1.6g.
There was then a second bounce, and the nosewheel once again impacted the runway for a third time – this time with a gravitational force of 1.6g.
A post-accident examination of the aircraft revealed what the NTSB described as “substantial damage to the upper crown of the fuselage,” with wrinkles and crumpling clearly visible along the body of the 33-year-old plane.
The damage was so bad that United had to immediately pull the airplane from service so that extensive repairs could be carried out, including inserting a new section of fuselage in the area that had been crimpled.
Having previously worked for United Airlines as a flight attendant, Silva joined the carrier as a First Officer just seven months before the accident.
In his lawsuit, Silva admits that he was the pilot flying the plane at the time of the accident but insinuates that the Captain was responsible for the unusual landing because he failed to arm the speed brake.
The fact that the speed brakes weren’t armed, Silva claims, was the reason that the nose gear “went down hard on the runway.”
Silva was pulled from duty the same day as the accident and wasn’t allowed to return to work until September 30, when he was first presented with the findings of a ‘flight safety investigation’ before being ordered into a simulator to test out his landing skills.
Without being given any opportunity to practice his skills after four months on the ground and only 113 hours of flight time on the Boeing 767, Silva says he found himself having a so-called ‘check ride’ in the simulator with a “hostile, degrading and intimidating” assessor.
Silva failed his check ride and less than two weeks later, United terminated his employment.
United then allegedly told the FAA that Silva was the ‘pilot in command’ of flight UA702, despite the fact that this role can only ever be assigned to the Captain. Silva believes that this ‘false statement’ has tarnished his FAA record and effectively made him unemployable as a pilot.
The lawsuit alleges that United Airlines deliberately made the false statement to the FAA in order to protect the Captain, who was on the flight deck with Silva at the time of the accident.
“United made this false statement in an effort to protect [the] Captain from any ramifications with the FAA,” the legal complaint alleges. “As a result of these false statements, Mr Silva has been severely damaged and cannot find employment as a pilot for any other carrier.”
Along with requesting substantial damages, Silva is also demanding an injunction against United to force them to retract their claim that he was the ‘pilot in command’ of flight UA702. Silva is also demanding attorney fees because United “has been stubbornly litigious.”
that’s crazy work! bending a plane and failing to perform in the sim is why he will not get hired, now add a lawsuit on top of that! on one will trust this FA to had out snacks let alone land a plane!
Kinda spooky to think this aircraft is on the line out there still flying ? Would you trust that repair job, even year(s) later if it’s still in service ? Amazing what companies will do in the name of $$$.
The repaired area is going to be the strongest part of the aircraft because it is new.
Yes, we trust that certified mechanics and FAA oversight are doing their job. This isn’t Botswana, and without faith in our institutions and professionals then this country won’t function. Those engineers who repaired the aircraft are highly skilled, and millions of travelers put their faith in their professionalism every year.
Tell us more about how you don’t know anything about aircraft manufacturing or maintenance. I would have no problem getting on this aircraft and considering the number of 767’s I’ve been on lately, it wouldn’t surprise me if I already have.
The article says the accident happened on July 29th, and he was called in on September 30th and given a check ride, yet that’s only a couple days more than 2 months, not 4 months. Still, It would have been better if they gave him a couple of Sim sessions to “re-train”, and then a check ride.
Also, standard procedure if the speed brake does not deploy on touchdown is that the captain would manually deploy the speed brake. Wonder if this happened?
I’m left wondering if he touched down on the nose wheel first, as opposed to a normal landing on the main gear, which would explain the “porpoising”. Even if the speed rake is armed, it would not deploy on nose wheel. touchdown, only when the mains touch. Normal procedure in the event of a bounced landing is to go around immediately., not try to “ride it out’. This article leaves out some crucial details that may not have been available to the author at time of publication, but leaves many questions and not very many answers.
100%
I trust the mechanics that got this massive repair accomplished.
Silva does as a Silva does