Captain Grounded for ‘Brake Malfunction’ Faces Sanctions, T’way Air Suffers Losses

Due to safety-related ‘unfit for flight’ decision, the pilot faces severe sanctions.
The court “suspicious of the disciplinary action’s validity…suspends the effect of the sanction.”

It later emerged that T’way Airlines had imposed a five-month suspension on a captain who had decided that an international passenger flight was ‘unfit for flight’ in compliance with aviation safety regulations. The court, suspending the effect of this disciplinary action, stated that “conditions must be ensured where those related to flight safety can carry out their duties according to principles without fear of sanctions or disadvantages.”
According to reports from Hankyoreh and court documents on the 2nd, T’way Airlines Captain G, with 12 years of experience, discovered a brake issue while preparing to depart from Cam Ranh Airport in Vietnam to Incheon Airport on January 2nd. The length of the ‘indicator pin’, which shows the wear state of the brake pad, was below the standard value. He requested a brake replacement from the maintenance team according to the company’s ‘Operational Technical Bulletin’, but it was not carried out. After failing to receive any specific instructions from the company about whether to proceed with the flight, Captain G ultimately decided that the flight could not be operated. T’way Airlines then flew in parts from Korea to replace the brakes in Vietnam, and the deployment of a replacement aircraft for the said flight resulted in a delay of over 15 hours. Following the incident, the company convened a personnel committee and suspended Captain G for five months on February 1st, claiming he “persisted with the unfit for flight decision, causing significant losses to the company and passengers despite adequate explanation that flight safety was assured.”

However, on the 26th of the previous month, the Daegu District Court’s Civil Division 20-3 (Presiding Judge Kim Tae-kyun) decided to “suspend the effect of the disciplinary action” in response to Captain G’s application for an injunction against the disciplinary action. The court questioned, “Whether failing to replace the brake as requested, and subsequently deciding the flight could not be operated, was an arbitrary and ignorant action warranting disciplinary action.” It emphasized the need for “ensuring the conditions for stakeholders to carry out their duties according to principles without fear of sanctions or disadvantages, given the potential risk to numerous lives and physical health related to flight safety.”
Moreover, T’way Airlines claimed that “it was impossible to issue a business directive as it was the middle of the night in Korea” regarding not providing specific instructions on whether to fly. However, the court found it difficult to accept this explanation, considering “the nature of T’way Airlines’ business, which operates numerous international flights.”
The Korean Pilot Union Federation argued that the disciplinary action was an unfair labor practice, pointing out that Captain G is the union chairperson of the T’way Air pilots’ union. The union has lodged a complaint with the labor office against the company regarding arbitrary changes to annual leave schedules, non-payment of annual leave allowances, and non-payment of flight allowances, suggesting the discipline against Chairman G is not unrelated. Captain G has filed a complaint with the Seoul Regional Labor Commission for unfair disciplinary action and unfair labor practices and is awaiting the result. In response, T’way Airlines told Hankyoreh, “The specific validity of the disciplinary action will be demonstrated in the main lawsuit, and the disciplinary action is unrelated to the position of the union chairman.”