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Three passengers who were aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in January when a door plug burst mid-flight on the Boeing 737 MAX 9 have filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the airline and Boeing.
Kyle Rinker and his girlfriend, Amanda Strickland, were sitting just two rows diagonally behind the teenager whose shirt was sucked out when the door stopper flew off, their attorney Jonathan Johnson, an aviation law specialist, said in a news release this week.
Kevin Kwok, who also sat near the couple, is also part of the lawsuit filed late last month in Multnomah County, Oregon.
“This is primarily about the systemic problems at Boeing that endanger the lives of the entire traveling public that travels on Boeing aircraft,” Johnson told KGW-TV. “You shouldn’t rely on luck to prevent a whole lot of people from getting killed.”
ALASKA AIRLINES PASSENGER DESCRIBES HORRIBLE FLIGHT TO CALIFORNIA: 'THERE WAS A HOLE IN THE PLANE'
The missing emergency door of Alaska Airlines N704AL, a 737 Max 9 that made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport on January 5, is covered and taped off on January 23, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. Alaska Airlines will resume flight operations… (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Rinker told KGW that about five minutes into the flight, “we heard the loud bang. We were just sitting there trying to relax… and then something just happened. The oxygen masks came down, just like, 'Oh, wow, something's going on. We have to put this on.''
He added: “The wind was just racing. It was suddenly very, very cold, obviously because you’re flying up there at 16,000 feet.”
Rinker said they live in an area where he often hears planes overhead, which has been a trigger since the incident.
“We haven’t been on a plane since. I’m not sure when that will happen again,” he said.
NTSB REPORT: MISSING DOOR PLUG SCREWS PLAYED A FACTOR IN ALASKA AIRLINES FLIGHT AT ARRIVAL
The lawsuit is just the latest legal challenge Alaska and Boeing have faced since the Jan. 5 incident when the Ontario, California-bound flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland. No serious injuries were reported.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said there is evidence that four screws holding the door stopper on the Boeing 737 Max 9 were missing at the time of the mishap on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 last month. (NTSB/Fox News)
Mark Lindquist, another attorney representing 22 other passengers who were aboard Flight 1282 when the pressure dropped, told Fox Business last month that their lawsuit against Boeing and Alaska had been expanded to include the claim that passengers had heard a whistling noise on a previous flight of the aircraft.
The updated statement of claim states: “During a previous flight of the affected aircraft, a whistling noise was heard from near the door stopper. Passengers apparently noticed the whistling sound and brought it to the attention of flight attendants, who reportedly informed the pilot or first officer.”
It alleges that no known further action was taken “after the pilot checked the cockpit instruments, which reportedly read normal.”
The amended complaint also cites the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) preliminary report from last month, which found that the cockpit door was designed to burst if pressure was lost and that the pilots and crew were not informed of this design feature became.
“The resulting vibrations, noise and communication difficulties contributed to a lack of proper communication between the flight crew and passengers, thereby increasing confusion and stress,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit includes allegations of emotional and physical injuries, including severe stress, anxiety, trauma and hearing impairment. The amended filing added additional passengers to the lawsuit.
After the incident, the FAA grounded the Max 9 fleet for further investigation.
Last week, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told Boeing officials that they needed to address the company's “systemic quality control issues.”
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“Boeing must commit to real and profound improvements,” Whitaker said after meeting with Boeing Chairman and President Dave Calhoun and his senior safety team. “Achieving fundamental change will require sustained effort from Boeing leadership, and we will hold them accountable every step of the way, with mutually understandable milestones and expectations.”
Fox Business has reached out to Johnson for comment. Boeing and Alaska Airlines declined to comment.
Eric Revell of Fox Business contributed to this report.