Seven passengers on a harrowing Alaska Airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing after a door-sized panel blew out are suing the airline and plane maker Boeing.
One of the plaintiffs is Cuong Tran, a passenger who was sitting in a window seat just behind a door jam that exploded in mid-air, causing a rapid depressurization in the cabin of the Boeing 737 Max 9 jet. He was rescued by a harness as the air rushed out of the hole, ripping off a pair of socks and a shoe and sucking away his iPhone.
He and six other plaintiffs, who are suing Alaska Airlines, Boeing Co., the plane maker and its supplier Spirit Aerosystems, suffered physical injuries in the incident and feared for their lives, according to their attorneys.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in King County Superior Court in Washington. It’s one of several lawsuits filed by passengers on the flight, including one filed in King County on behalf of 22 passengers, another filed by three Oregon passengers seeking $1 billion in damages, and another filed in King County on behalf of 22 passengers. It was filed in federal court on behalf of 33 passengers.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said four key bolts were missing from a door jam that exploded on a plane and is seeking more information about the crew who repaired the door jam. Boeing 737 Max project leader ousted after blowout.
The incident on January 5 prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to ground some Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft while it investigated, and the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a criminal investigation into the company.
The incident puts further pressure on Boeing, which is already under scrutiny after two 737 Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.
Although the January Alaska flight was able to land safely and caused no major injuries, attorneys in the latest lawsuit say several passengers were injured and traumatized.
“One of our client’s children lost his clothes — his shirt was sucked off,” said Ari Friedman, an attorney representing the passengers.
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“We can look at it in terms of product defects, or we can look at it in terms of what happens when companies think they can start cutting corners and save a few points in the stock price at the expense of the stock price,” Friedman said. “Public travel and the communities these aircraft fly into. “
Another class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of passengers alleges the oxygen masks malfunctioned. Some were struck by debris and suffered whiplash injuries as the plane decompressed.
