Aviation Human Factors

Expert Witness

Dr. Diane Damos has worked as an expert witness for both plaintiff and defense attorneys on litigation involving general aviation human factors issues and commercial pilot hiring. Dr. Damos taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in aviation human factors throughout her 19-year academic career.

The following are examples of the types of aviation human factors cases in which Dr. Damos and her associates have been retained as an expert witness:

CHARTER AIRCRAFT CRASH
A charter aircraft crashed in the mountains, killing all on board. The estate of one of the deceased sued the air carrier claiming that the pilots had not received the appropriate training for the aircraft. Dr. Damos was asked to review the pilots’ training records to determine if their training met the minimum requirements stipulated by the FAA.
PILOT VISION CLAIM
A civilian pilot wanted to be hired by the airlines and felt that his need for glasses was a detriment to being hired. He underwent elective eye surgery to correct some minor vision problems. Shortly after the surgery, he lost much of his eyesight in one eye and subsequently sued the surgeon for lost potential earnings. Dr. Damos established that the surgery was unnecessary by comparing the published vision requirements of the FAA with the plaintiff’s vision as documented on his FAA commercial pilot’s license.
PRIVATE AIRCRAFT CRASH
A private pilot and his family were killed while making an approach under low instrument conditions into a small airport with pilot controlled lighting. Dr. Damos was asked to determine if the high workload contributed to the accident. She identified several factors, including workload, that contributed to the accident.

Dr. Damos is an internationally recognized expert in pilot selection and hiring with over 40 years experience. For a discussion of her work on pilot career paths, please visit the commercial pilot lifetime earnings page.

Damos Aviation Services, Inc. provides on-line video conference services for initial case discussions and depositions.