“The Claman Countdown” panelists John Lynch and Sheila Kahyaoglu react to the door of an Alaska Airlines Boeing plane bursting mid-flight.
Six passengers are suing Boeing after an Alaska Airlines flight from Oregon to California was forced to make an emergency landing last week after part of the plane exploded mid-flight. They are suing for injuries sustained and emotional trauma.
The door plug on the Boeing-made 737 Max 9 aircraft came loose just minutes after Flight 1282 took off from Portland and reached an altitude of 16,000 feet. The gaping hole sucked out cell phones and tore a child's shirt from his body.
No serious injuries have been reported at this time. However, in the lawsuit filed in Washington, the passengers claimed that “a large portion of the oxygen” was sucked out of the plane and that “many of the oxygen masks appeared to not be working.”
WATCH: ALASKA AIRLINES passenger captures terrifying moments after plane part flew away in mid-air
Investigators are examining the door stopper that flew out of an Alaska Airlines flight on Friday, and it remains unclear whether the panel was properly screwed down. (NTSB/Fox News)
According to the lawsuit, some passengers “did not receive oxygen despite pulling on the hoses.” The lawsuit goes on to say that flight attendants cared for the children and “carried oxygen tanks for some, but did not or could not help all of them, whose oxygen masks appeared to be malfunctioning.”
The event also “bruised the bodies of some.” Additionally, passengers claimed that the change in pressure caused ear bleeds and “combined with low oxygen levels, loud wind noise and traumatic stress, resulting in severe headaches.”
Lead Investigator John Lovell examines the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282's Boeing 737-9 MAX. (NTSB/Fox News)
While the lawsuit claims some passengers were physically injured, it says most people, if not all, were “emotionally traumatized.”
“The passengers were shocked, terrorized and confused, thrown into a waking nightmare, hoping to live long enough to walk the earth again,” the suit continued.
BOEING CEO HOLDS ALL EMPLOYEE SAFETY MEETING AFTER 737 MAX INCIDENT: “We acknowledge our mistake”
Boeing representatives did not respond to FOX Business' request for comment.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was en route to Ontario, California and suffered a decompression shortly after departure from Portland, Oregon. (Portal / Portal Photos)
Days after the incident, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun admitted that the company had made a “mistake” and that it would work with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is investigating the incident, to determine the cause.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has temporarily grounded any Boeing 737 Max 9 with a plug door until it can ensure “everyone can safely return to service.”
| ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAL | UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC. | 39.78 | -4.73 | -10.63% |
| ALK | ALASKA AIR GROUP INC. | 35.18 | -1.81 | -4.89% |
| B.A | THE BOEING CO. | 217.69 | -4.97 | -2.23% |
Alaska and United Airlines are the only US airlines that operate this Boeing model.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO by CLICKING HERE
The FAA also told Boeing that it was investigating the company “to determine whether Boeing failed to ensure that finished products conformed to its approved design and were in a condition for safe operation in accordance with FAA regulations,” it said a statement from the authority.