Boeing & Aerospace

Alaska Airlines passengers sue Boeing after 737 MAX 9

blowout
Jan. 11, 2024 at 5:22 pm | Updated Jan. 11, 2024 at 7:14 pm

This image taken Sunday and released by the National

Transportation Safety Board, shows a section of Alaska Airlines
Flight 1282 that is missing panel on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 in
Portland, Ore. Federal officials are investigating Boeing’s...
(NTSB via AP) More 

By Lauren Rosenblatt 
Seattle Times staff reporter
Six Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 passengers have
sued Boeing after a large panel blew off the
aircraft Friday over Portland, Ore., causing the
cabin to depressurize.
The six passengers and a family member of
one of those passengers filed a proposed class-
action lawsuit Thursday in King County
Superior Court in Seattle, claiming Boeing
owes them and the other 165 passengers
aboard Flight 1282 compensation for injuries
sustained during the incident.
Alaska Airlines is not named as a defendant in
the lawsuit.
One passenger named in the lawsuit said her
head jolted back and forth during the incident,
resulting in a concussion, soft tissue injuries to
her neck and back and bleeding in one ear.
She also alleged her oxygen mask did not seem
to be working.
Two passengers named in the lawsuit said they had difficulty breathing. One said
they began to pass out.
Another passenger said that because he suffers from a seizure disorder triggered by
stressful situations, he experienced a seizure after he disembarked.
“Although everyone is glad that the blowout occurred while the crew could still
manage to land the aircraft safely, this nightmare experience has caused economic,
physical and ongoing emotional consequences that have understandably deeply
affected our clients, and is one more disturbing mark on the troubled 737-MAX series
aircraft,” attorney Daniel Laurence from Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore law firm,
which is representing the passengers, wrote in a statement Thursday.
The Alaska Airlines flight was operating a Boeing 737 MAX 9, the less popular of two
MAX models currently carrying passengers, when a door plug meant to cover a hole
where an emergency exit could be installed broke loose. The plane returned safely to
Portland International Airport, where some passengers were treated for nonlife-
threatening injuries.
The Federal Aviation Administration grounded that model of the MAX on Saturday.
The planes will remain grounded until they are inspected, following a set of
instructions from Boeing that must be approved by the FAA.
Boeing declined to comment on the lawsuit Thursday.

More on Alaska Airlines and the Boeing 737 MAX 9

FAA will investigate Boeing’s role in Alaska Airlines fuselage blowout
Cantwell blasts FAA oversight of Boeing after Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 blowout
How a mom fought to save her teen in Boeing jet’s blowout
Boeing, supplier under scrutiny in jet blowout
Flight at a different altitude could have been ‘catastrophic’
Alaska, United find loose hardware during inspection of 737 MAX 9s

The company has said in statements earlier this week that it supports the FAA’s
decision to ground the 737 MAX 9, and it is “committed to ensuring every Boeing
airplane meets design specifications and the highest safety and quality standards.”
“We regret the impact this has had on our customers and their passengers,” Boeing
said Monday.
The lawsuit filed Thursday pins the blame on Boeing because, it alleges, CEO Dave
Calhoun admitted the blowout was a result of Boeing’s “mistake.”
Attorneys representing the passengers pointed to an all-employee meeting Boeing
held Tuesday during which Calhoun told workers, “We’re going to approach this No. 1
acknowledging our mistake.”
“We are going to approach it with 100% in complete transparency every step of the
way,” he continued
“Moments like this shake [customers] to the bone, just like it shook me to the bone,”
Calhoun said.
The proposed class for the lawsuit includes the 171 passengers on board Flight 1282 as
well as their spouses and registered domestic partners. Some reside in Washington.
The plaintiffs are asking for compensation related to treatment for health conditions
and psychological injuries, as well as costs from the cancellation of travel plans,
missed work and the value of lost personal items.
The lawsuit comes the same day the FAA announced it had opened an investigation
into Boeing’s role in the Friday blowout.
After the plane landed in Portland on Friday, some passengers were rebooked on a
new flight to continue the journey to Ontario, Calif., the original destination of Flight
1282. Other passengers “had no interest in reboarding,” the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit, those who continued to California that night boarded
another Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9.

Lauren Rosenblatt: 206-464-2927 or lrosenblatt@seattletimes.com; on Twitter:

@LRosenblatt_.

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