Remember the JetBlue flight where the captain had to be locked out of his own cabin due to unstable behavior on his part? The aircraft diverted to Amarillo, the captain was hospitalized and the passengers were accommodated with another flight crew and compensated for their inconvenience. Well, a group of those passengers is now suing JetBlue because they were “in fear for their lives” during the episode.

No doubt it was a tense and even scary moment in some respects. Unpleasant at the least and inconveniencing as well.

But a lawsuit here is just silly. Fear alone and fear that lasts a short time and fear from an event that had a good and successful outcome isn’t justification for suing an airline for millions. I wouldn’t question the fear but I do strongly question just how much fear one experiences when the airplane stays in control and the misbehaving captain is corralled and controlled in fairly short time? It’s not good, it’s not ideal but let’s face the facts: It wasn’t the worst situation that could happen either. Try a landing on a short runway in rain with a 20 knot crosswind component.

Shame on the passengers for their agreeing to be a part of this lawsuit. This is acting like a child rather than adult on their part.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax