Dr. Damos  is an international expert in pilot selection and hiring with over 40 years experience .  She has taught undergraduate- and graduate-level university courses on aviation human factors. She has worked for both plaintiff and defense attorneys on litigation pertaining to pilot hiring, performance, retention, and certification.

Here are examples of the types of cases in which Dr. Damos has been involved: 

1.      A Part 135 pilot who had recently interviewed unsuccessfully for a position at at regional air carrier was killed in a crash. Dr. Damos was asked to determine the likelihood of the pilot's being hired by another air carrier and the probable path and timeline of the pilot's career.  

2.     A military pilot who was applying to the airlines was killed in an automobile crash.  Dr. Damos  was asked to determine if the pilot was likely to have been hired by an airline.

3.       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 vision requirements of the FAA with the plaintiff's vision as documented on his FAA commercial pilot’s license. 

4.       A regional airline pilot was seriously injured while attending a public event.  The pilot sued the facility owner and the operator for lost potential income, claiming that his injuries delayed his being hired by a major carrier by several years.  Dr. Damos was asked to identify when the pilot became eligible to be hired by a major carrier. 

5.       A charter aircraft crashed in the mountains, killing all on board.  The estate of one of the deceased sued the carrier claiming that the pilots had not received the appropriate training for the aircraft.  Dr. Damos  was asked to review the training records to determine if the training met the minimum requirements stipulated by the FAA.   

6.       A professional pilot flying a private aircraft crashed, destroying the aircraft and injuring several passengers.  The insurance company refused to pay the hull insurance, claiming that the pilot’s logbook had been falsified and that the pilot did not have the correct ratings to fly the aircraft.  Dr. Damos reviewed the logbook and FAA documents and determined that the pilot was qualified to fly the aircraft. 

View a clip of an exchange between NTSB Board Member Robert L. Sumwalt and Dr. Diane Damos on pilot selection during the Professionalism in Aviation Forum of the National Transportation and Safety Board held in Washington, D.C. in May, 2010