Four passengers have filed a lawsuit against Alaska Airlines and Boeing over a recent incident where a door plug blew off the airplane shortly after takeoff.
The lawsuit, which was filed in King County Superior Court in Washington, is seeking unspecified damages for alleged negligence against Boeing and Alaska Airlines (via ABC News):
Two California residents and two Washington state residents who were on the flight are suing the two companies for alleged injuries including "intense fear, distress, anxiety, trauma [and] physical pain," according to the complaint.
"Plaintiffs feared the gaping hole in the fuselage, rapid depressurization, and general havoc was a prelude to the plane's destruction and their own likely death," the complaint stated.
"This is the end," one plaintiff thought, according to the complaint.
Some passengers also sent "what they thought would be their final text messages in this world," according to Seattle attorney Mark Lindquist, who filed the complaint on behalf of the four passengers.
One plaintiff texted, "Mom our plane depressed. We're in masks. I love you," according to the complaint.
To recap, the door plug flew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 minutes after Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland International Airport on Jan. 5. The incident was captured on video on the plane.
An Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing Friday night after a portion of the aircraft blew out mid-air. Video obtained by CBS News appeared to show one of the passenger window panels had been blown out. https://t.co/wKIOLENg3r pic.twitter.com/M00hT7HaPx
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 6, 2024
NEW IMAGE from on board Alaska Airlines 1282 after ***part of the fuselage*** blew out mid-flight. Successful emergency return to Portland after 20 minutes in the air. 10-week-old (!) Boeing 737 Max 9. NTSB investigating. pic.twitter.com/qjX8fQ1br1
— Pete Muntean (@petemuntean) January 6, 2024
Shortly after, the National Transportation Safety Board announced that the door plug was found in a schoolteacher’s backyard. In addition, two cell phones that were sucked out of the plane were also located, one in a yard and one on the side of the road, which Townhall covered.
ABC noted that the lawsuit alleges product liability against Boeing under the Washington Product Liability Act, alleging that the plane was "unreasonably dangerous and defective.”
"Though it's too soon to know for sure what exactly went wrong," Lindquist said in a statement. "We do know Boeing is ultimately responsible for the safety of their planes and Alaska Airlines is ultimately responsible for the safety of their passengers."
For the time being, the Boeing 737-9 MAX airplanes have been grounded and will be investigated, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
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