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