Female Qantas pilot who claimed PTSD ended her ‘dream career’ is suing airline for $780,000 for allegedly not maintaining their planes properly after a mid-air engine failure
- Pilot is suing Qantas for more than $780,000 after suffering from PTSD
- Jacinda Cottee was aboard flight from Alice Springs to Brisbane in 2018
- Qantas flight experienced a midflight engine failure but landed safely hour later
- The 43-year-old alleges Qantas ‘breached duty of care’ with ‘poor maintenance’
A female pilot is suing Qantas for nearly $800,000 claiming they ‘breached their duty of care’ after suffering a post-traumatic stress disorder when a plane experienced a midflight engine failure.
Jacinda Cottee, 43, was the first officer aboard a Boeing 717 aircraft travelling from Alice Springs to Brisbane in March of 2018 when one of the aircraft’s engines failed.
The plane was safely landed in the Queensland capital an hour later but in documents lodged in court Ms Cottee alleges QantasLink have ‘poor maintenance practices’ and have ended her ‘dream career’, The Australian reported.
Jacinda Cottee (pictured) is suing Qantas after suffering a post-traumatic stress disorder aboard a flight from Alice Springs to Brisbane
The 43-year-old (pictured) was the lead officer aboard QF1799 when it experienced an engine failure about 550 kilometres north of Brisbane
Ms Cottee, who is recognised as the first woman of colour to be a Qantas pilot, was the lead officer for Cobham Aviation aboard flight QF1799 from Alice Springs on Saturday March 18, 2018 when one of the vehicle’s engines failed about 550 kilometres north of its destination Brisbane.
The flight was delayed an hour and 20 minutes from when it was scheduled to depart.
Passengers onboard the flight reported hearing a loud banging noise before the plane began to shake.
The flight crew managed to safely land the aircraft at Brisbane Airport an hour after the failure, with inspections on the ground revealing damage to the compressor blades of the engine.
It was the second incident Ms Cottee had experienced involving aircraft engine issues after also being onboard a QantasLink flight from Hobart to Melbourne that encountered similar problems.
A Qantas spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that the malfunction was determined to be a manufacturer issue by Rolls Royce
The 43-year-old says she has developed PTSD from the second incident and alleged in court that QantasLink had ‘overlooked safety’.
‘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,’ Slater and Gordon Lawyers acting on behalf of Ms Cottee said in a statement of claim.
‘Further, the 717 aircraft was removed from service on the Hobart route due to ongoing issues with maintenance.’
‘QantasLink breached their duty of care by failing to perform proper maintenance on the Boeing 717 aircraft,’ Principal lawyer Kavita Maharaj said in the statement.
‘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.’
Ms Cottee is seeking $783,811 in damages and costs from QantasLink for loss of past and future earnings.
In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Qantas said they intend to defend the claims and say the engine malfunction was determined to be a manufacturing fault from Rolls Royce.
‘The cause of the engine issue from the flight in March 2018 was investigated and Rolls-Royce determined it was a manufacturing fault and not related to maintenance,’ a Qantas spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
‘All Qantas aircraft are maintained to the highest safety standards, and our fleet of Boeing 717 aircraft have a 99.99% reliability rate. This is the only engine shut down on QantasLink’s B717 fleet over a five-year period.’
‘Like all pilots, the first officer had been trained on how to respond in the event of an engine power failure.’
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Ms Cottee for comment.