Mid-air trauma: pilot sues Qantas

A pilot involved in a midflight engine failure has accused the aircraft’s owner Qantas of shoddy maintenance.

Pilot Jacinda Cottee is taking legal action against QantasLink for allegedly not maintaining its aircraft properly. Picture: LinkedIn

A pilot who suffered post-­traumatic stress disorder after a midflight engine failure is seeking $780,000 from Qantas for allegedly not maintaining its planes properly.

Jacinda Cottee, 43, was a first officer employed by Cobham ­Aviation (National Jet Systems), when she was operating the QantasLink flight from Alice Springs to Brisbane on March 10, 2018.

About 550km from Brisbane, one of the Boeing 717’s Rolls-Royce engines failed.

At the time, media reports of the incident quoted passengers as saying they heard a loud bang then felt the aircraft vibrating, with some believing they were about to crash.

The crew was cheered when the aircraft landed safely in Brisbane an hour later. An engineering inspection revealed damage to the compressor blades and the engine was removed.

It was the second time Ms ­Cottee had experienced such an event, with another QantasLink flight from Hobart to Melbourne also suffering engine trouble in April 2015.

After the second incident, Ms Cottee developed PTSD, eventually resulting in the termination of her employment with Cobham Aviation on medical grounds.

Documents lodged in the Brisbane District Court showed Ms Cottee believed responsibility for her condition lay entirely with her employer and QantasLink.

“The claimant says that the maintenance when the accident occurred was largely performed in Canberra (and) due to poor maintenance practices with the 717 aircraft, the maintenance was ultimately moved from Canberra to Singapore,” a statement of claim says. “Further, the 717 aircraft was removed from service on the Hobart route due to ongoing issues with maintenance.”

A Qantas Boeing 717 aircraft. Picture: AAP

Slater and Gordon principal lawyer Kavita Maharaj said had the 717s been properly maintained, the incidents involving her client were unlikely to have occurred.

“QantasLink breached their duty of care by failing to perform proper maintenance on the Boeing 717 aircraft,” Ms Maharaj said.

“By overlooking safety, they put their pilot, crew and passengers at risk. Ms Cottee has been left with a psychological injury, leaving her unable to fly and pursue her dream career.”

Damages and costs totalling $783,811 were being sought by Ms Cottee, who was now working on a book on pilot wellness and acting as a welfare representative with the Australian Federation of Air Pilots.

The figure included lost past and future earnings, based on her previous income of $1700 a week.

“What happened to me highlights the importance of airlines providing care to all crew members following an incident, ­especially in the mental health space,” said Ms Cottee. “National Jet Systems did not provide proper crisis care after the event.”

Documents filed by Qantas lawyers HWL Ebsworth stated it would oppose Ms Cottee’s claim.

“It may well be that no member of the Qantas Group is the ­entity responsible for the maintenance or service of the engine,” said the response from HWL Ebsworth partner Matthew Brooks.

A Qantas spokesman said on Sunday that the cause of the ­engine issue in March 18 was a manufacturing fault and not ­related to maintenance. “This is the only engine shut down on QantasLink’s B717 fleet over a five-year period,” he said. Like all pilots, (Ms Cottee) had been trained on how to respond in the event of an engine power failure.