Alaska Airlines and Boeing are sued for $1 billion over a horrific mid-air explosion that sucked off a teenager's shirt

US News

by Rich Calder

published
March 2, 2024, 7:45 PM ET

An investigator investigates the large gap that led to the emergency landing of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.
NTSB/AFP via Getty Images

Three passengers have filed a lawsuit against Alaska Airlines and aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing for $1 billion during the horrific events of January 11. Flight 5 took off from Portland, Oregon, and suffered a massive explosion in a cabin panel.

Photos of the gaping hole in the fuselage that nearly caused a disaster have gone viral, and passengers who have filed a lawsuit have told new horror stories about their experiences after the lawsuit was filed, including the story of a teenager's shirt that was nearly sucked off.

Passenger Kyle Rinker said: “We took off fine and just five minutes later we heard a loud pop.” kgw news, In reference to the door seal exploding, creating a hole in the 737 Max 9 plane.

Plaintiffs Kyle Rinker and Amanda Strickland were on the plane. Instagram/Kyle Rinker

“We were sitting there trying to relax and then this thing happened. The oxygen masks fall off, and it's just like: ‘Oh, wow, something's going on.’ We have to put these things on.”

“The wind came rushing in. “It was very cold all of a sudden, because you're flying up there at 16,000 feet,” he added.

Defective door seal from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 — This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the defective door plug from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. AP

Late last month, Rinker and his girlfriend, Amanda Strickland, along with another passenger, Kevin Cook, filed a lawsuit in Multnomah County, Oregon, on behalf of passengers on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.

It claims the defendants ignored obvious warning signs and that the fight should never have started.

Rinker and Strickland, both from Portland, sat two rows behind 15-year-old Jack. Who lost his shirt during the commotion.

During the flight, Rinker Pictures posted on X Of chaos.

“This is mostly about systemic problems at Boeing, which put the lives of all passengers who fly on Boeing aircraft at risk,” plaintiffs' attorney Jonathan Johnson said. “They shouldn't trust luck to avoid killing a planeload of people.”

Johnson said that although the aircraft manufacturer acknowledged its role in the explosion and pledged to fix such problems from occurring in the future, the lawsuit will push the two companies to prioritize safety.

“A lot of people have said, ‘Oh, sorry for what you went through,’ and I’m thinking, ‘Oh, it could have been a lot worse, even as bad as it was.’ I think about that almost daily,” Rinker said.

Boeing and Alaska Airlines declined to comment.