Boeing, GE Face Multi-Million Dollar Claim

A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the passengers who were aboard a British Airways Boeing 777 that suffered an uncontained engine malfunction on takeoff from Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport in September, citing emotional stress, pain and suffering as a result of the incident.

Boeing and General Electric have been named as defendants in the suit, which was filed in Chicago on behalf of 65 passengers, nearly all residents of the U.K., and others are expected to joint the claim.

The U.K. newspaper The Telegraph reports that the claim could reach $100 million. Documents filed with the court claim that the aircraft and its engines were "defective and unreasonably dangerous.”

The 157 passengers and 13 crew members all evacuated the airplane after it came to a stop after the engine failure. Fourteen people needed hospital treatment for minor injuries associated with the evacuation. The writ filed with the court said a high pressure compressor system in the engine was defective, leading to the explosion and fire.

The writ claims that both companies should be held liable for the condition of the engine. It also accuses Boeing and GE of lobbying against more stringent inspection rules proposed by the FAA.

The passengers do not hold British Airways responsible for the incident. James Healy-Pratt of Stewarts Law, which is bringing the action, told the paper that the passengers say that the BA flight crew "performed heroically in guiding the aircraft to an emergency stop and then evacuating all the occupants."

Boeing told the paper that it had sent information related to the incident made public by the NTSB to airlines, and that it would notify operators if the investigation shows that any actions are needed on the part of the planemaker.

GE said it has not seen the writ, but that it continues to support the NTSB in its investigation to find the cause of the engine failure.

GE said that the GE90 engine "has powered hundreds of Boeing 777 aircraft worldwide with extraordinary reliability. Under any statistical measure, the GE90 engine family is among the most reliable engines in the history of commercial aviation.”

(Image from file)

FMI: www.boeing.com. www.geaviation.com