Federal aviation safety inspector Paul Asmus filed a civil lawsuit against United Airlines after he was removed from a flight and was later barred from traveling with the carrier. The complaint, filed Jan. 30 in U.S. District Court in California, stems from a May 2022 flight departing San Francisco and seeks millions in monetary damages and court-ordered relief.
What the Inspector Reported
According to the complaint, Asmus was traveling on a personal ticket when he noticed a torn seat-back pocket at his assigned seat. He said the damage affected the ability to properly store and access the passenger safety briefing card, which regulations require to be available at each seat. The filing also states he observed a passenger standing in the aisle during pushback.
The inspector documented the conditions using his phone and raised them with cabin crew as potential safety discrepancies. The complaint says the interaction escalated after flight attendants objected to his actions, questioned his documentation and expressed concerns about interference with their duties and photography in the cabin.
Why the Aircraft Returned to the Gate
According to the lawsuit, the captain was informed of the situation and conveyed that the aircraft could return to the gate if the issue was not resolved. The filing states the captain asked to see the most recent image on the inspector’s phone, which the inspector displayed and which he said showed only the seat condition.
Despite this, the aircraft taxied back to the gate and the inspector was removed from the flight. Crew reports cited disruptive behavior along with a separate reference to a disagreement involving a seat assignment, which the filing says was later resolved and refunded.
Airline Action and Federal Case
The lawsuit says United documented the incident internally and submitted reports to federal regulators describing the inspector’s conduct as interference with crewmember duties. Those submissions formed the basis of a federal civil penalty enforcement action.
That case was later dismissed by a Department of Transportation administrative law judge. The decision described the interference allegations as unsupported and found witness testimony “not credible and without merit.”
The ruling also stated that safety reporting is a required duty, noting that an FAA inspector was “required to document any safety-related issues that he observed.”
Damages and Relief Sought
The complaint specifies several relief categories. Asmus is seeking $250,000 in economic damages, citing lost wages, legal defense costs and future financial harm tied to the lifetime travel ban. The filing also seeks $2.5 million in non-economic damages for emotional distress, professional humiliation, reputational harm and loss of enjoyment of life.
The lawsuit also requests $10 million in punitive and exemplary damages to address what the filing characterizes as willful conduct. It further asks the court to order United to rescind the lifetime travel ban, withdraw any restitution demands related to the aircraft’s return to the gate and correct internal records associated with the incident.
The inspector has requested a jury trial. The case remains pending in the Northern District of California.
I wish I could contact Paul.
I have information that he needs to know about United coverage on more important safety related issues.
The discrepancies were relatively minor and, IMHO, the inspector should have held his counsel until the flight landed at the destination.
Clearly a serious level of non-compliance by the Airline!
“Hi! I am here from the FAA to help…….myself”.
The Inspector should have been reprimanded and fined by the FAA for interfering with flight attendant safety duties. That is the type behavior that casts a very bad light on the rest of the FAA employees that do their job day after day with little recognition.
I hope the judicial system sees this as a fraudulent suit and that individual never works in the industry again. He brought this trouble on himself by being a jerk. He deserves nothing in this case except disdain by the judge and jury!
I’ll bet Mr. ASSmus was being a vengeful little b*tch because of the previous “disagreement involving a seating assignment.” I hope he’s “humiliated” some more.
A little bit of authority is a dangerous thing!
As reported here, the so called safety discrepancies were very minor and could have been calmly handled after the flight. It sounds like Asmus was someone whose sense of authority was out of control. The lawsuit is also absurd, both for amount claimed and on the merits, which are non existent.
“Just because You CAN, doesn’t mean You SHOULD.”
Minor infractions can wait to the end of the flight…
I wonder if United broke his guitar
A torn back seat pocket??? This was obviously a retribution by a federal employee. Certainly did not warrant all the drama and the inconvenience and cost to others. This should be thrown out and the FAA Inspector needs recurrent training.
Another fine example of this over litigation country that we live in.
Clearly, this FAA inspector was off duty on a personal flight when he noticed and documented a single torn seat back that can be misconstrued as interfering with safety placards placed in seat backs and noting a passenger standing while taxiing. Is this a power trip because of seat selection, possibly using these discrepancies to leverage his position with cabin crew, then allowed this to escalate to the point of being ejected and banned from United or could this have been handled as a simple reminder at the end of flight to crew and flying officers? He was not acting as FAA inspector as a passenger unless regulations allow unannounced random inspections.
Lack of good judgement on the inspectors part. All issues should have been debriefed at the end of the flight. Dick head on power trip.. Interference with crew over minor issues causing flight interruption. Can his ass!
He didn’t mention the seat back pocket until AFTER the flight was pushing back? While they could have repaired or deferred it? Certainly, a seat back pocket can be deferred. deferrable. And flight attendants can’t keep passengers from getting up when they’re not supposed to. They can only tell them to sit back down. Neither of these issues affected, nor could have affected the safe outcome of the flight. Why didn’t he wait until arrival? Not only should this guy have to pay the airline and face a lifetime ban, he should be fired.
To Catherine:
You just did.
Reading the comments is truly disheartening. So much expert knowledge going to waste.
Wouldn’t it be better if comments were made on the basis of complete and accurate information, rather than a heavily edited and redacted newsletter article?
There’s an awful lot more to this story, as with most stories in the media today.