Door Plug Fiasco Continues with Large Suit from 3 Passengers

Three of the passengers aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 have filed suit against the carrier and Boeing, citing the usual host of psychological issues seen in such cases.

This trio would carry a hefty price tag in punitive damages for the defendants, $1 billion in all. The plaintiffs' attorney, the titular Jonathan Johnson of Jonathan W. Johnson, LLC, filed suit in Multnomah County, Oregon on behalf of 3 pax aboard the flight. Two of them were located 2 rows back and possibly across the aisle behind the infamous "shirt sucked off" passenger. 

As these things often go, there's blood in the water, and everyone finds that the trauma of living after a possible brush with death is only alleviated through the application of millions of dollars (or whatever's left of it after the lawyer's cut, of course). One of the plaintiffs plays up the difficulty in living with the aftermath of the depressurization and early return of Flight 1282, saying that his domicile remains painfully within the flight path of passing airliners above. Just seeing or hearing planes overhead is triggering for him, renewing the trauma of life after 1282.

His lawyer says that the plaintiffs are going to bat for the traveling public as a whole, punishing an apathetic and incompetent industry on our behalf seeking a greater good. The $1 billion price tag is simply the most effective cudgel to teach them a lesson...and help rebuild the shattered lives - well, three of them - left behind in the aftermath of their failure.

"There are ongoing investigations by the NTSB," said a press release from Johnson. "Bolts were missing where the door plugs detached. Boeing CEO, David Calhoun, says that he was "shaken to the bone" after hearing about this avoidable accident that put hundreds of innocent lives in danger. Further inspections should have been made before the aircraft was placed in service. It seeks to hold Boeing accountable for its negligence which had caused extreme panic, fear, and post-traumatic stress. This experience jeopardized the lives of the 174 passengers and 6 crew members that were on board. For those reasons, the lawsuit seeks substantial punitive damages from Boeing for what was a preventable incident and because the defects in manufacturing impacted numerous other aircraft and threatened the lives of the passengers on all Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, which were all grounded by the FAA following the incident."

FMI: www.boeing.com