An airline pilot who suffered post traumatic stress disorder when an engine failed between Alice Springs and Brisbane has had a small win in her attempt to get compensation.
Jacinda Cottee was the first officer on the Boeing 717-200 that landed safely after continuing the flight on March 10, 2018 with one engine.
"One of the engines failed mid-flight due to what was later found to be a crack in a turbine blade that caused it to fail, leading to other blades also failing," Brisbane District Court Judge Ken Barlow said in a judgment handed down on Tuesday.
He found there was enough evidence for the court to be satisfied Ms Cottee had a right of action against Rolls Royce as well as other companies.
When Ms Cottee first saw a psychologist two months after the incident she was experiencing frequent flashbacks, reminders of the incident, was hypervigilant and had disrupted sleep, waking in a panic-like state.
Ms Cottee continued to have sleep difficulties, panic attacks and diminished concentration, a psychiatrist found in May 2020, diagnosing her with PTSD mainly caused by the engine failure incident.
"She (the psychiatrist) concluded that significant improvement in the foreseeable future was unlikely," Judge Barlow said.
Ms Cottee earlier started proceedings against Eastern Australia Airlines (EEA) - trading as QantasLink - claiming they were responsible for the inspection, maintenance and service of the aircraft and had been negligent in performing those responsibilities.
She successfully applied to the court for an extension of time within which to start action against engine manufacturer Rolls Royce Deutschland and two Cobham Aviation Services entities.
The limitation period for such action is three years from the date on which it arose.
Ms Cottee argued for the extension saying she found out which companies were responsible for maintaining the aircraft, particularly the engines, only after the limitation period for taking action.
Judge Barlow referred to documentation in which EEA claimed the aircraft was owned by Qantas Airways, but Rolls Royce was responsible for inspecting, maintaining and servicing engines.
He refers to a report into the circumstances of the engine failure by Cobham Aviation Services which states Rolls Royce provided information that the blade failure was due to a fatigue crack.
That report included one from Rolls Royce that recorded "four very similar failures in other engines of the same type on earlier occasions: in May 2008, February 2012, July 2017 and August 2017", Judge Barlow said.
Ms Cottee told the court she had received the report in 2018 but only read parts as she found it "highly triggering".
Judge Barlow found it was not unreasonable that she paid little attention to the report and did not consider whether she may have a right of action against someone for damages for her illness.
A Qantas spokesperson said earlier the company would defend the claims, with the incident being the only engine-shutdown on QantasLink's B717 fleet over five years.
"The cause of the engine issue from the flight in March 2018 was investigated and Rolls-Royce determined it was a manufacturing fault and not related to maintenance," the spokesperson said.
QantasLink's Boeing 717 fleet was operated by Cobham Aviation at the time of the incident, with pilots employed by National Jet Systems, which became a Qantas subsidiary in 2020.
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