United Airlines on Wednesday was hit with a lawsuit by a passenger who claims he suffered bodily injuries and emotional distress from a “terrifying” incident last year, which “nearly resulted in the loss of all life aboard.”

California resident Theodore Liaw said his “close brush with death due to United’s negligence” caused him to suffer panic attacks when flying and seek psychotherapy. He also claims he sustained injuries to his back.

According to the lawsuit, Flight 931 was traveling from Chicago to London when it made an emergency landing in Goose Bay, Canada, on Oct. 27 last year. The plane was traveling at an altitude of approximately 40,000 feet before it started “a terrifyingly rapid descent” ending at the remote airport.

“Utter silence filled the plane, as the various passengers gripped their arm-rests with white knuckles during this episode. Many aboard thought they were going to die,” the complaint read.

The passengers were left on board the plane for eights hours until a replacement airplane arrived to take them to their destination.

United said at the time that the incident had occurred due to a bird strike, according to the suit.

But the passenger claims in the lawsuit that it was a cover up and that he allegedly learned the real story from the pilots of the plane.

He alleges that the pilots told him there was ‘nothing alive at 40,000 feet’.

“The pilots said that this was likely the cause of a human mechanical error,” the lawsuit states. It is believed the incident was a result of a United mechanic over-torqueing the bolts of the cockpit window.

“Nothing struck Flight 931 in the air. There was no bad weather. Under such ordinary flight conditions, cockpit windows for a Boeing 767-300 do not break of their own accord,” the suit claims.

“Courageously, Flight 931’s co-pilot quickly pushed his weight against what was left of the third and last layer of the cockpit window, which may have prevented the entire window from breaking during the descent to Goose Bay. Had that last layer disappeared, both pilots would have likely been sucked out of the plane and Flight 931’s passengers would have been doomed,” the lawsuit read.

“The co-pilot’s quick thinking (and extraordinary bravery) had saved everyone by keeping the third layer intact long enough for the plane to land.”

“The pilots grimly mentioned that everyone came close to dying many times over – from the pilots being sucked out of the window, to the fact that had the plane been further out on its journey, the pilots would have had no choice but to risk an almost certainly fatal water landing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.”

All passengers on board were allegedly given a $500 voucher from United in exchange for a release of all liability. Liaw did not accept and wants additional compensation.

The passenger claims the incident has left him with a fear of flying.

He said on two recent short-haul flights he experienced nausea, anxiety, dizziness and sleepiness.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)