Pilot sues Boeing over F-15 falling apart

[fultonCoShooter]

By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 25, 2008 5:57:19 EDT

The pilot of the F-15C Eagle that broke apart in November, forcing an Air Force-wide grounding of F-15s, has sued the jet’s builder.

Maj. Stephen Stilwell’s lawsuit accuses Boeing Co. of endangering the lives of F-15 pilots and claims the company should have known the fighter wasn’t built to specifications.

The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 from Boeing. The 27-year-old jet was built by McDonnell Douglas, which became part of Boeing in 1997.

The “misconduct of Boeing constituted gross indifference” and a “conscious disregard for the safety of F-15 pilots,” the lawsuit filed March 21 in St. Louis, Mo., federal district court claims.

The lawsuit says that Stilwell, a Missouri Air National Guard and commercial airline pilot, has not been cleared to return to flying military or civilian jets because of the injuries he suffered as the plane broke into pieces and he ejected. Calls to Boeing were not immediately returned.

After the Nov. 2 breakup, an Air Force investigation which included assistance from Boeing, determined that the fighter broke apart behind the cockpit because one of the support beams — called a longeron —that reinforces the fuselage snapped apart. The aluminum-alloy longeron failed because it was thinner than what specifications called for and its rough finish left the longeron susceptible to cracking.

The breakup occurred as Stilwell flew a 7.8G-turn, a standard training maneuver.

An inspection of all Air Force F-15s turned up 149 that also had thin or rough finished longerons and nine jets with cracked longerons.

Since the inspections, the Air Force has cleared most of its 420-plus F-15s to return to flight. However, Eagles with questionable longerons must be inspected more often.

[sjl127]

Whatever. What a douche.

[MrUgly]

He's upset because a 27 year old plane that was likely rode hard and put away wet broke?

How about we get some new jets? I hear they are making a few. We could off set the cost by selling our F15C stock to India.

[knight0334]

Its not his place to sue. He has no vested interest beyond that of a tax payer.


Civil suits should face penalty of DEATH for anything other than actual physical/monetary loss or actual medical costs.

Anyone who files such lawsuits should be dragged out in front of the court house by the Sheriff, Bailiff, Judge, or other personnel and hanged right at the front door until they are dead, dead, dead.

[RandomTask]

This is the same kind of shit that killed general aviation.
The pilot of a 40 year old Cessna sues because the seat came loose on takeoff, causing him to lose control and crash, etc...

[reels18]

If the plane was built incorrectly, wouldn't you think it would have fallen apart before reaching the ripe old age of 27 years of service?

This pilot is indeed an ass hat.

[Seventy4Blazer]

we have issues with the UH-1N tail boom vertical fin coming appart...

most of the airframes that are getting to 20+ years of age on ANY platform have been extended and re-extended on flight hours. some are over double origonal service hours expected.

time to quit fighting a war and start rebuilding America...

[Seventy4Blazer]

Its not his place to sue. He has no vested interest beyond that of a tax payer.

im sure he feels that way as well since he cant fly anymore... BUT to fight on both sides here... i am sure he is also getting a nice pay check from the U.S. as well... push pull

[jsb889]

Sorry guys, I gotta disagree.

He was a pilot. He was not responsible for the maintenance of the plane. I know if I'm a pilot, I expect my plane to not come apart on me unless it was damaged by my own fault. The fault does not lie on the pilot, and he was injured due to another's actions. The company that made them did not build to spec, which may have made them give out earlier than their service life. The planes should have been fixed properly when this fault was known.

If he slammed into something taxing out, his own damn fault. But he lost his job because the maker did not build the plane right. This was not his personally owned car that he is responsible for.