Passengers in flight that suffered a blowout file lawsuit

Seven passengers who were aboard an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 jet when part of its fuselage blew out in January have filed a lawsuit against Boeing, Alaska Airlines, Spirit AeroSystems, and 10 other unidentified individuals.

One passenger, Cuong Tran, claims that his life was saved by wearing a seatbelt during the incident. Tran was sitting near the area where the side of the aircraft tore away, causing a door-sized hole.

Driving the news: The lawsuit accuses Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, and Alaska Airlines of negligence and product defects, alleging that they failed to ensure the aircraft was in a safe and airworthy condition.

• The suction caused by the blowout tore Tran’s shoes and socks from his feet and pulled his body off his seat, injuring his foot when it was jerked into the seat structure in front of him.
• The lawsuit seeks punitive, compensatory, and general damages for alleged negligence, product construction/manufacturing defect liability, and failing to protect passengers from harm.
• Another lawsuit filed last month on behalf of 22 other passengers accuses Boeing and Alaska Airlines of negligence in the same incident.

Go deeper: The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary report indicates that four bolts that help keep the door plug in place were missing after repairs were done to nearby damaged rivets in September.

• Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems performed the rivet repairs, and Boeing has acknowledged that it cannot find records for the work done on the door panel of the Alaska Airlines plane.
• The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation to review whether Boeing complied with a settlement regarding the safety of its 737 Max aircraft after previous deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.

What they’re saying: “Our clients — and likely every passenger on that flight — suffered unnecessary trauma due to the failure of Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, and Alaska Airlines to ensure that the aircraft was in a safe and airworthy condition,” said attorney Timothy Loranger.