WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- United Airlines flight attendants who refused to fly after threatening graffiti was found have asked federal regulators to order their reinstatement.
The 13 attendants have filed a petition with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The agency can order the airline to give them their jobs back and could also order United to reimburse their legal expenses.
The July 14 flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong was canceled when the crew refused to work unless the plane was given a full security sweep. A pilot conducting a pre-takeoff inspection found two faces, one smiling and the other frowning, and the words "Bye Bye" scrawled on the body of the plane.
The attendants were dismissed for "insubordination."
Related
David Marshall, a lawyer representing the attendants, said the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in March 2014 influenced their decision. The plane vanished while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and its fate remains a mystery.
"The flight attendants in coming to the conclusion that they would not fly on the flight, that decision was informed by many events and factors that included the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines flight several months prior," Marshall said.
He added that an early July warning from the National Transportation Safety Board that cell phones could be converted to bombs had added to safety concerns.
In the complaint., the attendants said the graffiti could have been written in San Francisco or before takeoff in South Korea. They described the faces as "devilish" and said it was placed high on the tail cone near an access panel to an engine and in an area reachable only by authorized employees using special equipment.
The attendants said they were told the plane was safe to fly after the engine compartment was searched.
United, in a statement, said the flight attendants over-reacted.
"Our flight operations, safety and maintenance teams appropriately investigated and determined there was no credible security threat," spokeswoman Christen David said in a statement. "All of FAA's and United's own safety procedures were followed, including a comprehensive safety sweep prior to boarding, and the pilots, mechanics and safety leaders deemed the aircraft entirely safe to fly."
