Alaska Airlines pilot who safely landed plane after panel blew out says Boeing unfairly blamed him

This image taken Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, and released by the National Transportation Safety Board, shows the section of a Boeing 737 Max where a door plug fell while Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was in flight. (NTSB via AP)

The Alaska Airlines pilot who has been universally praised as a hero for safely landing a jet after a door plug panel flew off shortly after takeoff is suing Boeing because he believes the plane maker wrongly tried to blame him and the rest of the crew.

Captain Brandon Fisher was commended by the heads of the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration and even Boeing executives for helping ensure none of the 177 people aboard flight 1282 were killed when the blowout happened in January 2024.

But Fisher’s lawyers say Boeing’s attempts to deflect liability in past lawsuits despite what the NTSB investigation found led to the pilot being sued by some passengers and caused him great distress. Still, experts say it’s unusual for a pilot to sue like this in an incident where he wasn’t seriously hurt or killed. Four flight attendants previously sued Boeing over the incident last summer.

Fisher’s lawsuit says Boeing suggested it wasn’t responsible because the plane was “improperly maintained or misused” by others.

“It was clear Boeing’s words were directed at Captain Fisher in attempt to paint him as the scapegoat for Boeing’s numerous failures,” Fisher’s lawyers, William Walsh and Richard Mummolo, wrote in the lawsuit filed in an Oregon court.

Key bolts were missing

The NTSB investigation of the blowout found that four bolts securing what is known as the door plug panel were removed and never replaced during a repair as the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft was being assembled. Boeing and key supplier Spirit Aerosystems, which has since been acquired by Boeing, were both implicated.

The bolts are hidden behind interior panels in the plane, so they are not something that could have been easily checked in a preflight inspection by the pilot or anyone else from the airline. NTSB investigators determined the door plug was gradually moving upward over the 154 flights prior to the incident before it ultimately flew off.

“Boeing’s lie infuriated Captain Fisher as well, as he was being castigated for his actions as opposed to being lauded,” Fisher’s lawyers wrote. “Because he had flown Boeing aircraft for the entirety of his employment with Alaska Airlines, Boeing’s attempts to blame him felt like a deep, personal betrayal by a company that claimed to hold pilots in the highest regard.”

The NTSB made clear this was caused by a manufacturing issue and the crew’s actions were exemplary. Experienced pilot John Cox, who is CEO of the Safety Operating Systems aviation safety consulting firm, said the crew did a remarkable job considering what they were dealing with, and no one has faulted the crew.

“I think the Boeing lawyers were kind of grasping at straws,” Cox said.

Terrifying moments

The blowout occurred minutes after the flight took off from Portland, Oregon, and created a roaring air vacuum. Seven passengers and one flight attendant sustained minor injuries, but the plane landed safely.

The 2-foot-by-4-foot (61-centimetre-by-122-centimetre) piece of fuselage covering an unused emergency exit behind the left wing had blown out. Only seven seats on the flight were unoccupied, including the two seats closest to the opening.

Boeing factory workers told NTSB investigators they felt pressured to work too fast and were asked to perform jobs they weren’t qualified for.

Fisher’s lawsuit describes how he and the first officer acted quickly after losing cabin pressure when the panel blew out to fly the plane safely back to Portland while decreasing altitude and working with air traffic controllers to avoid any other planes in the area.

The airline didn’t answer a question about whether Fisher is still flying for them, and the lawsuit described him as a citizen and well-respected member of the aviation community. It wasn’t clear Tuesday whether he is still working as a pilot.

Working to improve safety

The head of the commercial airplane unit at Boeing at the time, Stan Deal, commended the Alaska Airlines crew for safely landing the plane in a memo to employees after the incident.

Boeing did not comment directly on this new lawsuit. But the company’s CEO, Kelly Ortberg, has made improving safety a top priority ever since he took over the top job at Boeing in August 2024.

The FAA fined Boeing $3.1 million over safety violations inspectors found after the door plug incident. In October, the agency allowed Boeing to increase production of the 737 Max to 42 planes a month because inspectors were satisfied with the measures the company had taken to improve safety.

Alaska Airlines also declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said the airline remains “grateful to our crew members for the bravery and quick-thinking that they displayed on Flight 1282 in ensuring the safety of all on board.”

Josh Funk, The Associated Press