June 5 (Reuters) - NetJets, the luxury plane unit of

billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRK/A ),

sued its 3,400-member pilots union for defamation over

statements about its commitment to safety and training pilots.

The lawsuit filed on Monday in a state court in Columbus,

Ohio, where NetJets is based, seeks unspecified damages.

It follows years of often contentious relations between the

carrier and the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots.

"NJASAP stands by the concerns we have raised about pilot

training and the safety and maintenance cultures--concerns that

have only increased in intensity in recent months," the union's

president Pedro Leroux said on Wednesday. "We view the lawsuit

as an attempt to silence us."

Neither NetJets nor its lawyers immediately responded to

requests for comment.

Buffett flies on NetJets planes, and in 2015 told Berkshire

shareholders "we have no anti-union agenda whatsoever."

NetJets accused its union of making false and defamatory

statements through press releases, newspaper ads and social

media to damage its reputation with customers, employees and the

public.

It said the statements included suggestions that NetJets'

flight planning system was defective, in part because it could

send aircraft into dangerous weather, and that the company cared

more about saving money than safety.

NetJets also objected to a Jan. 26, 2024 ad in the Wall

Street Journal that referenced the recent mid-air cabin panel

blowout on an Alaska Airlines plane and said: "NetJets Owners:

What if you looked out your window and saw a panel of the

plane?"

The company also objected to suggestions that new pilots

might be unqualified because they "predominantly" gained flying

experience on small planes, and were inadequately trained by

NetJets instructors.

In April 2023, the union sued NetJets for allegedly

interfering with its communications about contract negotiations.

A federal judge in Columbus dismissed that case in January,

saying he lacked jurisdiction and that NetJets "has not struck a

fundamental blow to the union."

Berkshire, based in Omaha, Nebraska, employed 396,440 people

at year end, including 8,349 at NetJets. Most are not unionized.

The case is NetJets Inc et al v NetJets Association of

Shared Aircraft Pilots, Court of Common Pleas, Franklin County,

Ohio, No. 24CV004374.