Summary
- Alaska Airlines offers $1,500 compensation, a full flight refund, and counseling to passengers of Flight 1282 after terrifying incident.
- Passengers recount harrowing experiences as Boeing 737 MAX 9’s plug door blows out mid-flight.
- Six passengers file lawsuit against Boeing, claiming compensation for injuries; lawyer calls $1,500 inadequate.
Alaska Airlines will offer each passenger onboard Flight 1282 last Friday compensation of $1,500. Passengers were also given a full flight refund and may have access to counseling sessions following the harrowing incident.
AS1282 passengers offered compensation
The airline emailed all passengers onboard the flight this week, offering them money compensation of $1,500, a full refund and other support services.
Alaska said in an announcement to PEOPLE,
Photo: The Global Guy | Shutterstock
The carrier added that passengers may have access to 24/7 mental health resources and counseling services. Last Friday, 171 passengers received the shock of their lives after the plug door onboard a Boeing 737 MAX 9 suddenly blew out while the aircraft was at 16,000ft. Miraculously, everyone survived, but things might have been loads worse if the plane was above 30,000ft and passengers weren’t buckled up.
A terrifying ordeal
Stories from passengers onboard the flight have begun to emerge. Some have recounted sending final messages to family members, and feel that minor compensation is not enough for the experiences they went through.
One traveler, Evan Smith, said he saw a young passenger whose shirt was “sucked off him and out of the plane” while his mother desperately held onto him. Other items, including multiple smartphones, were sucked out of the plug door gap, a few of which have since been discovered on the bottom.
Passengers to launch Boeing lawsuit
In accordance with a Seattle Times report, six passengers who were onboard the flight have filed a class-action lawsuit against Boeing in King County Superior Court in Seattle – the group claim they’re owed compensation for injuries sustained during their ordeal.
Photo: NTSB
Attorney Daniel Laurence from The Stritmatter law firm, representing the passengers, commented in an announcement,
Fortunately, while no passengers on the flight suffered any type of major injuries, some were treated for nonlife-threatening injuries once the plane had touched back down in Portland. Laurence added that passengers will give you the option to hunt compensation for “emotional distress,” adding that “.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has now grounded all 737 MAX 9s with these plug doors as Boeing revises its inspection guidelines following industry feedback. Authorities have since found the missing door plug, discovered in someone’s backyard near Portland.
Would you accept $1,500 as compensation in case you were a passenger onboard this flight? Tell us within the comments.