Passenger recounts Boeing door plug blowout one year later
Jan 4, 2025, 2:45 PM
Sunday marks one year since an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland was forced to make an emergency landing after a door plug blew out mid-flight. (Photo: Sam Matthews)
(Photo: Sam Matthews)
SEATTLE, Wash. 鈥� Sunday marks one year since an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland was forced to make an emergency landing after a door plug blew out mid-flight.
The plane was a Boeing 737 Max 9.
鈥淭he oxygen masks come down, and I鈥檓 like, ‘this completely feels like a movie,’鈥� recalls passenger Andrew Chhur.
He says it sounded like an explosion on the flight. It was a moment he says he thought might be his last. Chhur reached for his phone to say his goodbyes.
鈥淲hat I thought would be, last messages to friends and family, just telling them, you know, 鈥榟ey, something happened on this plane, not sure if I鈥檓 going to make it,’鈥� says Chhur.
Fellow passengers shared in that fear.
鈥淚t鈥檚 only by the grace of God and ten minutes that I鈥檓 still here,鈥� says Garrett Cunningham.
That January 5th flight was the start of a turbulent year for Boeing.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 it going to take for Boeing to get its act together?鈥� asks attorney Mark Lindquist. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e suffered lawsuits, they鈥檝e been criminally prosecuted, and their stock prices plummeted.鈥�
Lindquist represents 34 clients, including Chhur, suing the aerospace giant for their experience on that flight. The filing claims that 鈥渢he Max 9 aircraft was unreasonably dangerous and defective.鈥�
鈥淔or lack of better words, this shouldn鈥檛 fly for a company like Boeing,鈥� says Chhur.
Lindquist calls the door plug blowout yet another example of Boeing鈥檚 negligence. He also represents families who lost loved ones in the deadly airline crashes in Ethiopia in 2019 and Indonesia in 2018. Both planes were Boeing-made.
鈥淎fter 346 people died in the two Max 8 crashes, Boeing put out a list of things they鈥檙e going to do to fix the problems and change the culture,鈥� says Lindquist. 鈥淭hat didn鈥檛 happen. Now they have a new list out of changes they鈥檙e going to make. And at this point, a lot of us are skeptical.鈥�
A spokesperson with Boeing declined multiple requests for an interview with 成人X站 7.
In a statement, the company outlined a list of action items they say they鈥檝e implemented over the past year.
They include things like: 聽鈥渘ew random quality audits, 鈥渟trengthened training for mechanics and quality inspectors,鈥� and 鈥渟ignificantly-reduced defects in 737 fuselage assembly at Spirit AeroSystems by increasing inspection points at build locations.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 no room for error in manufacturing an airplane,鈥� says Lindquist. 鈥淟ives depend upon the quality of that aircraft.鈥�
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