Taking Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun’s own words from a safety meeting earlier this week, a group of passengers say Boeing’s self proclaimed “mistake” caused them damage they won’t soon forget
The six passengers were on board Alaska flight 1282 when a door plug blew off the Boeing 737 Max 9 jet at 16,000 feet. No one was seriously harmed, but in a suit filed Thursday in a Seattle court, the six passengers and one family member say: "the event physically injured some passengers and emotionally traumatized most if not all aboard."
They claim the incident also caused injuries, including a concussion, bruises, difficulty breathing and bleeding ears.
The suit also claims that some oxygen masks had no oxygen flow, contributing to some passengers’ breathing difficulties.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer Daniel Laurence from the Stritmatter Firm, based in Seattle released a statement, saying in part: “The NTSB has yet to pinpoint an exact root cause of Flight 1282’s alarming decompression. But given Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun’s forthright admission that this terrifying event was caused by Boeing’s 'mistake' (a soft take on its apparent negligence), our passenger clients elected to file suit as soon as possible in order to seek fair compensation for their injuries.”
The suit says the group wants a trial to determine the damage amount. Boeing has not issued a statement.
In the meantime, the FAA Friday says it's going to conduct an audit, looking into both the Max 9 assembly and its parts suppliers to evaluate whether quality procedures were followed, possibly leading to the outsourcing of some quality control oversight.
The FAA is also exploring the use of an independent third party to oversee inspections at Boeing. Meanwhile, 171 Max 9 planes remain grounded as airlines wait on updated inspection instructions from the FAA.
American Airlines Suspends Boeing 737 Max Flights Until June
The 737 MAX was grounded worldwide last year following two crashes, and it's still not clear when it will get approval to fly again.
