Courts / Dublin / Report

Aer Lingus pilot tells tribunal he felt 'under duress' to drive safety investigation away from 'technical difficulty with aircraft'

Date
2025-12-09

Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

Adjudicator John Harraghy has adjourned overnight the Workplace Relations Commission hearing involving Aer Lingus pilot Declan McCabe, who is pursuing statutory complaints under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, and the Payment of Wages Act 1997. Aer Lingus contests these claims. Mr McCabe alleges he felt "under duress" during a safety investigation into a June 2023 navigation incident to attribute the issue to human error rather than a "technical difficulty with the aircraft." He denies management findings that he failed to submit a timely safety report and provided inaccurate information to Air Nav Ireland. Cross-examination focused on whether the aircraft was establishing for the wrong runway and whether this constituted a reportable matter. Mr McCabe stated that evidence pointing to multi-mode receiver issues was withheld from him. He was demoted from captain to first officer in January 2024, a sanction he alleges was predetermined penalisation linked to a 2011 fatigue dispute. The matter was adjourned overnight, with hearings scheduled for two more days this week.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Aer Lingus pilot tells tribunal he felt 'under duress' to drive safety investigation away from 'technical difficulty with aircraft'. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

8 June Other
New Year's Day 2024 Incident
2025-12-09 Publication

Why: "I was there, I know that, because I was flying the aircraft. CNI source report