We live in a very litigious society filled with frivolous lawsuits. Unfortunately, one such lawsuit may be in the works for Hawaiian Airlines, as idiots are considering a lawsuit for the HA 35 incident. Hopefully, the airline will prevail in this case.
As a recap, HA 35, operating from Phoenix to Honolulu, encountered a spot of turbulence about thirty minutes before landing. The aerial disturbance was so sudden that flight crews weren’t able to warn passengers, causing nearly two dozen passenger and crew injuries, some of which were moderately severe. However, while weather reports showed thunderstorms and turbulence in the area, no aircraft ahead of HA 35 had encountered turbulence on their flight path. And with flights usually often spaced minutes apart, there was no reason to expect that would change when they passed through the area. But it did. QUICKLY.
Idiots Are Considering a Lawsuit for the HA 35 Incident
Texas-based lawyer, Nomaan Husain, has gathered twelve of the passengers on HA 35 to potentially sue Hawaiian. Yes, they haven’t decided to file a suit yet, but they are actively determining the feasibility of one. Their main argument, unsurprisingly, is that, given the weather conditions in the area, crews should have warned passengers of the potential for turbulence and instructed them to buckle up. In fact, speaking to New York-based WIVB-4 News, Husain states, “the captain should have ordered all passengers and crew members to sit down and buckle up, knowing they were about to hit severe turbulence.”
Yeah, ok.
This statement by Mr. Husain surprises me since, supposedly, his law firm specializes in aviation-related. What’s even more ironic is that on his page about the HA35 incident, Husain has a section going over the unpredictability of turbulence. I quote, “[t]urbulence is one of the most unpredictable occurrences in weather and it can be very difficult to navigate and manage while in flight. Turbulence is defined as the unsteady or violent movement of water or air. This movement can be slight and cause airplanes to experience minor shaking, bumps, or swaying. On the other end of the spectrum, it can also be very extreme and result in severe structural damage, loss of control of the aircraft, rolling, spinning, and more.”
Contradictory, much? Knowing how unpredictable turbulence and all weather phenomena can be, reports provided by other aircraft flying through that exact area, and given standard operating procedures, I don’t understand how Husain or any of the passengers can blame Hawaiian or their crews for this incident. Knowing how Hawaiian and most other airlines operate, crews warn you to keep your seatbelt fastened at all times, even when the fasten seatbelt sign is off, specifically for situations like this. It’s even in the safety briefing video!
This is why I say idiots are considering a lawsuit for the HA 35 incident. The evidence is clearly against the attorney and passengers here. Again, the pilots reported that a cloud suddenly popped up in front of them and that no other aircraft reported any disturbances. How on earth does Husain expect to build a compelling case?
Final Thoughts
While I’m saying idiots are considering a lawsuit for the HA 35 incident, I don’t want to minimize the injuries experienced by passengers, and especially by flight attendants. But, seriously, if the passengers just that were injured just followed the standard warnings to keep their seatbelts fastened at all times, then far fewer of them (and, perhaps, none of them) would have been injured. But I guarantee you, most of the passengers that got injured weren’t wearing their seatbelts, especially since so many people take their seatbelts off the second the sign goes off – even if they’re not getting up. I don’t get it.
At any rate, I hope this case never makes it to court. If it does, I hope the judge will throw it out, and if that doesn’t happen, I sincerely hope Hawaiian wins.
For everyone else, let this incident be a reminder to keep your damn seatbelt on.