Three passengers who were onboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 have filed a US$1-billion (over C$1.35 billion) lawsuit against the airline and Boeing, claiming negligence led the plane’s door plug to blow off mid-flight.
The lawsuit, filed on Feb. 20 in Multnomah County, Ore., says passengers Kyle Rinker, Amanda Strickland and Kevin Kwok “suffered severe mental, emotional, and psychological injuries, including post-traumatic stress and physical injuries” as a result of the incident.
According to CBS News, which obtained the legal filing, the trio is seeking compensatory and punitive damages over the “frightful, death-threatening failure of the Boeing aircraft.”
They have accused Alaska Airlines and Boeing of “placing profits above safety.”
Both Boeing and Alaska Airlines have declined to publicly comment on the lawsuit.
On Jan. 5, all three of the passengers were onboard a flight from Portland, Ore., to Ontario, Calif., when an unused exit door on the 737 Max 9 jet, made by Boeing, suddenly and unexpectedly blew off about 16,000 feet in the air. The door incident occurred shortly after takeoff and the jet was forced to return to Portland International Airport after about six minutes in the air.
The lawsuit says the sudden change in pressure in the plane’s cabin made some passengers’ ears bleed. Oxygen masks were dropped down for the 174 passengers and six crew members, while personal belongings flew out of the plane.
A 15-year-old boy, who was reportedly sitting two rows behind Rinker and Strickland, had his shirt ripped off while sitting in a seat next to where the blowout left a gaping hole in the fuselage.
Investigation into the incident found the door panel appeared to be missing four key bolts intended to keep it snugly in place.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily grounded 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes for inspection after the incident, most operated by United Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
In the days after Flight 1282, United Airlines said it found loose bolts and other “installation issues” in the door plugs of their Boeing 737 Max 9 planes.
The fleet of 737 aircraft returned to the air in late January, after the FAA cleared the planes for service.
Jonathan W. Johnson, LLC, the aviation law firm that filed the legal claim on behalf of the three passengers, said in a press release the door blowout “put hundreds of innocent lives in danger.”
“Further inspections should have been made before the aircraft was placed in service,” the law firm said. “The lawsuit seeks substantial punitive damages from Boeing for what was a preventable incident and because the defects in manufacturing impacted numerous other aircraft and threatened the lives of the passengers on all Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.”
Strickland told ABC7 there hasn’t been a day since Jan. 5 that she and Rinker, who is her boyfriend, have not thought about the mid-air incident.
“I know that some people were able to text loved ones and say what was happening. We couldn’t even do that we just had to hold on to each other,” she said. “It was horrible. Our lives are going to be forever changed now. Like I said, we don’t know if we’ll ever be able to get on a plane again.”
Boeing is already facing another class-action lawsuit over Flight 1282. The lawsuit, filed in January, alleges “the event physically injured some passengers and emotionally traumatized most if not all aboard.” The suit claims some travellers were left with bruises and headaches and experienced traumatic levels of stress.
None of the passengers on the flight were seriously injured.
Alaska Airlines offered the 174 passengers a full refund for their flight, as well as a US$1,500 (nearly C$2,035) cash payment “to cover any incidental expenses to ensure their immediate needs were taken care of.”
The airline also offered 24/7 access to mental health resources and counselling.
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