The Alaska Airlines pilot who has been universally praised as a hero for safely landing a jet after a door plug panel flew off shortly after takeoff is suing Boeing because he believes the plane maker wrongly tried to blame him and the rest of the crew.

Captain Brandon Fisher was commended by the heads of the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration and even Boeing executives for helping ensure none of the 177 people aboard flight 1282 were killed when the blowout happened in January 2024.

But Fisher’s lawyers say Boeing’s attempts to deflect liability in past lawsuits despite what the NTSB investigation found led to the pilot being sued by some passengers and caused him great distress. Still, experts say it’s unusual for a pilot to sue like this in an incident where he wasn’t seriously hurt or killed. Four flight attendants previously sued Boeing over the incident last summer.

Fisher’s lawsuit says Boeing suggested it wasn’t responsible because the plane was “improperly maintained or misused” by others.

“It was clear Boeing’s words were directed at Captain Fisher in attempt to paint him as the scapegoat for Boeing’s numerous failures,” Fisher’s lawyers, William Walsh and Richard Mummolo, wrote in the lawsuit filed in an Oregon court.

Key bolts were missing

The NTSB investigation of the blowout found that four bolts securing what is known as the door plug panel were removed and never replaced during a repair as the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft was being assembled. Boeing and key supplier Spirit Aerosystems, which has since been acquired by Boeing, were both implicated.

The bolts are hidden behind interior panels in the plane, so they are not something that could have been easily checked in a preflight inspection by the pilot or anyone else from the airline. NTSB investigators determined the door plug was gradually moving upward over the 154 flights prior to the incident before it ultimately flew off.

“Boeing’s lie infuriated Captain Fisher as well, as he was being castigated for his actions as opposed to being lauded,” Fisher’s lawyers wrote. “Because he had flown Boeing aircraft for the entirety of his employment with Alaska Airlines, Boeing’s attempts to blame him felt like a deep, personal betrayal by a company that claimed to hold pilots in the highest regard.”

The NTSB made clear this was caused by a manufacturing issue and the crew’s actions were exemplary. Experienced pilot John Cox, who is CEO of the Safety Operating Systems aviation safety consulting firm, said the crew did a remarkable job considering what they were dealing with, and no one has faulted the crew.