Lindquist law: fresh allegations vs. Boeing, Alaska Airlines

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Today, attorney Mark Lindquist submitted an updated legal complaint against Boeing and Alaska Airlines, representing 22 passengers from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.

The incident occurred on January 5 during a flight from Portland, Oregon to California, when a recently manufactured Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft experienced a sudden depressurization at 16,000 feet due to a door plug blowing out of the fuselage, accompanied by a loud noise.

Initially filed on January 16, Lindquist’s lawsuit cited emotional and physical injuries suffered by passengers, including severe stress, anxiety, trauma, and hearing impairment. The Amended Complaint expands the scope of the lawsuit by including additional passengers and alleging further instances of negligence on the part of Boeing and Alaska Airlines.

New allegations include a claim, “there was a whistling sound coming from the vicinity of the door plug on a previous flight of the subject plane. Passengers apparently noticed the whistling sound and brought it to the attention of flight attendants who reportedly informed the pilot or first officer.”

No known further action was taken, “After the pilot checked cockpit instruments, which purportedly read normal.”

Moreover, Lindquist references the latest preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which revealed that the cockpit door was engineered to blow out during a depressurization event. Significantly, pilots and crew members were not briefed or made aware of this specific design feature.

“The resulting shock, noise, and communication difficulties contributed to a lack of proper communication between the flight crew and passengers, thereby intensifying confusion and stress,” according to the lawsuit.

Having represented numerous families of victims affected by the two fatal crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max 8 in 2018 and 2019, Lindquist asserted that Boeing had a responsibility to address its quality control shortcomings following the tragic loss of 346 lives in those Max 8 accidents.

Boeing is still cutting corners on quality,” Lindquist said. “The company is cutting so many corners, they’re going in circles.” 

According to the NTSB report, Boeing delivered the aircraft to Alaska Airlines with four retaining bolts absent, leading to the eventual blowout of the door plug.

“This plane was a ticking bomb,” Lindquist said. “A blowout could have happened at a cruising altitude where it would have been catastrophic.”

The lawsuit includes a diverse group of 22 plaintiffs, ranging from a couple with an infant to a mother with her 13-year-old daughter, and even an unaccompanied minor.

Lindquist emphasized that his clients seek accountability and aim to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

Prior to establishing his private practice, Lindquist served as the elected District Attorney in Pierce County, Washington, where he achieved success in prosecuting several prominent cases. His firm, based in Tacoma, specializes in wrongful death, aviation, and other personal injury cases.

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