A Portland couple who were on the Alaska Airlines 737-MAX 9 that had its door blow off in midair are suing Boeing and Alaska Airlines for $1 billion. They claim that the incident left them traumatised, to the point that they now get flashbacks from the sound of aeroplanes passing by.
Kyle Rinker, 29, was with his girlfriend, Amanda Strickland, and fellow passenger Kevin Kwok, travelling to Ontario, California, on Alaska Flight 1282, when, five minutes into the flight, there was a sudden loud ‘pop’ as one of the aircraft’s door plugs blew out through the plane’s fuselage.
The group of three was seated in row 27, which was just behind row 26, where a large hole had been made in the plane’s side.
It led to a sudden rush of cold air as the plane ascended through 16,000ft and the oxygen masks deployed from ceiling panels.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants (Boeing and Alaska Airlines) ignored obvious warning signs – and that the flight should have never taken off.
‘We took off fine and then just five minutes later, we heard the loud pop,’ Rinker told KGW.
‘We were just sitting there trying to relax… and then that thing just happens. The oxygen masks come down, just like, ‘Oh, wow, something’s going on. We got to get these on.’
‘We were in 27E and F, and that was 26A, B, and C, so we were pretty close. The wind just came rushing it. It was very, very cold all of the sudden.’
Fortunately, row 26 was vacant, and the horrific tragedy did not result in any injuries.
Two months later, Rinker says he now finds himself triggered by the sounds of planes flying above and wants to claim punitive damages for systemic risks.
‘There has been a crazy onslaught of information. Of course, we wanted to learn about … it was just a lot of stuff. Where we live, we hear a lot of plane sounds and jet sounds, so that kind of triggers hearing that sound again. And no, we have not been on a plane since. I’m not sure when that will happen again.’
‘I don’t think there has been a day that’s gone by that we haven’t thought about it,’ Rinker’s girlfriend, Strickland, added.
‘It was so intense, the whole thing. We couldn’t hear anything that was going on. All we felt was the air and heard the sound of the air rushing by.’
‘We’ve had so many people say, “Oh, sorry about what you went through,” and I’m thinking, “Oh, it could’ve been a lot worse, even still with it being bad.” I think about that almost daily,’ Rinker said.
The Multnomah County lawsuit attempts to hold Boeing and Alaska corporations responsible for endangering passenger safety.
Attorney Jonathan Johnson, who is representing the passengers, stressed the necessity for the action to force both corporations to prioritise safety rather than rely on luck, even though Boeing has previously admitted their part in the event and promised to solve flaws.
It’s a miracle that no one perished on the aircraft; thus, every passenger should receive some sort of recompense.
You don’t anticipate the door falling from an aircraft when you board it; you expect to be safe. Those aboard the plane will likely have anxiety and anguish for a very long time, if not the rest of their lives. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it might have been far worse.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 