Heathcliff was a test pilot for Colossus, a major multinational airplane manufacturer. Heathcliff had an employment contract and was provided with a…

Heathcliff was a test pilot for Colossus, a major multinational airplane manufacturer.
Heathcliff had an employment contract and was provided with a flight operations manual (“manual”). The manual directed test pilots who were in trouble to land their planes in uninhabited areas where possible and directed them to minimize damage to the craft and to personnel to the fullest extent possible.
Heathcliff’s employment contract (“contract”) obliged him to comply with the manual.
Heathcliff’s contract contained a clause stating that Colossus would fully compensate pilots for injuries they incurred during their employment if they were complying with the manual at the time.
While on a test flight, the cockpit of Heathcliff’s plane caught fire. Heathcliff could have landed immediately but with the manual and contract in mind, he steered away from the city over which he was flying toward the farmland to the west of the city.
The fire grew worse as Heathcliff flew away from the city; because the worsening flames, he was grievously injured. Further, because the fire raged for several minutes while Heathcliff flew away from the city, the landing gear was destroyed and the plane crashed rather than landing smoothly.
These circumstances – the raging fire and the crash landing – caused Heathcliff to be injured far worse than he would have been if he had landed immediately. These circumstances also caused the plane to be destroyed rather than damaged.
Colossus informed Heathcliff that because he had failed to comply with the operations manual clause that directed him to minimize damage to the aircraft and to personnel (Heathcliff himself), they would not be compensating him fully for his injuries. Rather, they would compensate him for the minimal injuries he would have received had he landed immediately.
Heathcliff is a resident of a major city close to your home. Colossus is a corporation incorporated and doing business in a different state from yours. The plane was flying over that city when it caught fire and landed immediately to the west of that city.
You are working for a law firm that is considering representing Heathcliff.
Draft a memorandum of law outlining any possible claims.