Attorney Says Planemaker Should Have Retrofitted 777s After Similar Accident In 2009

An attorney representing several families that live in the San Francisco Bay Area has filed four separate lawsuits claiming Boeing should have retrofitted its 777 airplanes following a 2009 accident similar to the one involving Asiana Flight 214.

The suits have been file on behalf of 12 passengers who were aboard the plane. The San Jose Mercury News reports that they are the first to implicate Boeing, who has been providing training to Asiana pilots since 2006. The suit does not specifically say whether Boeing trained the pilots operating Flight 214.

Attorney Frank Pitre cited a 2009 accident involving a Turkish Airlines 737-800 landing in Amsterdam that occurred "under very similar circumstances" to the Asiana flight. Following that accident, Boeing added voice command "Low Airspeed" warnings to 400 737s in accordance with a recommendation from the Dutch safety board.

Pitre says that the 777 should have been similarly updated, which he says is a "software upgrade."

The lawsuit also names the flight crew for not getting the passengers evacuated from the airplane in the 90 seconds required by FAA. The suits do not ask for a specific amount of damages.

(NTSB Image)

FMI: www.boeing.com