A former pilot at a Westchester County Airport helicopter service claims he was fired because he refused to fly an aircraft that he considered unairworthy.
James P. Dickson accused Wings Air Helicopters and owner Javier V. Diaz of retaliation, in a complaint filed on May 1 in Westchester Supreme Court.
“Dickson’s termination was directly caused by his refusal to engage in or conceal violations of FAA regulations,” the complaint states, “and thus constituted unlawful whistleblower retaliation.”
Dickson, of Orangeburg, is certified as a commercial helicopter pilot and flight instructor, according to the complaint and to Federal Aviation Administration records.
Wings Air offers scenic tours, charter flights throughout the Northeast, aerial photography and surveying, and flight training. Diaz also is certified as a commercial helicopter pilot, according to a FAA record.
Dickson says Wings Air hired him a year ago.
Then this past November, he noticed mechanical problems on a Robinson R44 Raven II, a small, two-to-three-passenger helicopter manufactured in 2018. Unless the aircraft was properly maintained, according to the lawsuit, is was unairworthy under FAA regulations.
Dickson submitted an incident report through Wings Air’s internal reporting system, detailing overspeed indications (where, for instance, an engine or rotor revs too fast) and misalignment of a torque marker on a fan nut.
Despite the report, Diaz had another pilot “illegally fly the unairworthy plane to Long Island, falsely informing the pilot that it had been cleared to fly,” according to the lawsuit. Then Diaz demanded that Dickson amend the report … “and falsely indicate that the aircraft had been flight-ready.”
Dickson refused to change the report and refused to operate the Robinson R44 Raven II, the lawsuit states, unless it was inspected and properly cleared for service, as required by the FAA.
If he would not fly the helicopter, Dickson claims Diaz said, he would have to find another job. Dickson continued to refuse flying the aircraft, and was fired.
Then the FAA investigated, according to the lawsuit, and substantiated that there had been a violation of an order or regulation.
Dickson is demanding monetary damages for past and future lost earnings and for  emotional distress, as well as punitive damages.
Wings Air did not reply to a message asking for its side of the story.
