Boeing Sued by Air Force Pilot for Jet Breakup

Washington, DCIn November over the state of Missouri, an Air Force pilot was flying his F-15C fighter in a routine training mission when it broke apart, causing him to become injured. Now the pilot is suing Boeing, the maker of the fighter jet, for the accident, according to his lawyer.

Major Stephen Stilwell has recounted the details in which he says the jet began shaking from side-to-side in a violent manner. At the time, he was flying at 18,000 feet when he was forced to eject himself from the plane as it broke into pieces around him. One ejected, he says that he received debilitating injuries to his arm and shoulder because parts of the plane was hitting him after he ejected.

After the accident, the air force had conducted an investigation on the aircraft breakup and reported that there were cracks in the parts that were responsible for the incident. Those same parts were reported by investigators to not meet safety specifications when installed. This resulted in the entire F-15 fleet being grounded while inspections were conducted. Most of the jets were able to return to regular service while several of the planes remained on the ground when similar cracks were found in the parts.

According to the lawsuit, Stilwell cannot perform useful tasks or work duties. He is also not able to serve as a civilian or a military aircraft pilot. Furthermore, it says that he became disfigured as a result of the accident. He has endured significant pain and discomfort and has undergone surgeries for his shoulder and arm. His medical care still continues, therefore he is still accumulating medical bills.

Stillwell's allegations state that Boeing was aware of the dangerous and defective F-15 or should have known that a breakup would occur while it was in-flight. However, the plane was manufactured by McDonnell Douglas, which was bought by Boeing Corp., but Boeing assumes all responsibility for any issues with those aircraft. The counts against Boeing are as follows: Count one of the lawsuit is negligence on Boeing's part, count two is product defect, count three is failure to warn, count four is negligently supplying dangerous instrumentality, and count five is punitive damages in the amount of $75,000. His future medical expenses have not yet been calculated.

Stilwell's lawyer, Morry Cole, has said that the case was filed March 21, 2008 in the U.S. District Court's Eastern District of Missouri. As for Boeing, they have made no public comments regarding the lawsuit because they have not yet been served.

By Ginger Gillenwater