March 13, 2024
Media c ontact: Kassie Seaton | Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore
| kassie@stritmatter.com | 360 - 310 - 3398
Boeing and Alaska Airlines Deny Legal Responsibility to Passengers of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282
Seattle, WA – On March 11, 2024, the Boeing Company and Alaska Airlines filed answers in federal court to a class action lawsuit brought by 14 passengers of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. Even though the defendants admit the NTSB found door plug bolts essential to safe flight were missing, they deny legal responsibility to their passengers
Boeing admits that the NTSB report showed fractured fittings, missing hardware, and loose bolts. Boeing also admits to knowing that in 2023, its supplier Spirit AeroSystems notified Boeing of three other manufacturing process defects in 737 MAX aircraft.
Alaska Airlines admits that it detected three auto-pressure system warnings in Flight 1282’s 737-MAX 9 prior to the January 5, 2024 incident. Boeing makes a similar admission. The airline admits it “restricted [the aircraft] from extended range operations so the aircraft could remain closer to one of Alaska Airlines’ maintenance repair stations in the continental United States “in case a control system issue were to reoccur.”
Despite these admissions about how a door came off mid-flight in a new 737-MAX 9 aircraft, Boeing and Alaska Airlines insist the aircraft was reasonably safe and that they acted prudently to protect passengers.
Passenger attorney Daniel Laurence commented, “It is appalling that even now Boeing and Alaska Airlines refuse to take responsibility for the deep and lasting terror they inflicted, forcing real people to look in the face of a sudden death they had no power to avoid.”
Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore (The Stritmatter Firm) is based in Seattle, WA, and is a nationally recognized firm known for representing victims of wrongful death, serious personal injuries, and civil rights violations. The legal team for this case includes Daniel Laurence, Melanie Nguyen, Deborah Silberman, Andrew Ackley, and Brad Moore