The National Transportation Safety Board recovered the door plug from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a Boeing 737-9 MAX, in Cedar Hills, Ore. Alaska Airlines offered a full flight refund, $1,500 compensation and counseling to passengers aboard the plane. File photo by John G. Mabanglo/EPA-EFE
Jan. 12 (UPI) — Alaska Airlines is offering $1,500 compensation, a full flight refund and counseling to passengers of Flight 1282 after the Boeing 737 MAX 9’s door plug blew out not long after takeoff last Friday.
Meanwhile six passengers on the flight have filed a lawsuit against manufacturer Boeing, seeking compensation for injuries.
Alaska Airlines issued a statement Friday to People, saying it had already provided a full refund to each passenger on Flight 1282.
“We [also] provided a $1,500 cash payment to cover any incidental expenses to ensure their immediate needs were taken care of,” the statement read.
An airline spokesperson said it would “continue to work with [passengers] to address their specific needs and concerns.”
Affected passengers will have access to mental health resources and counseling services, the airline noted.
There were 171 passengers onboard the flight when the door plug suddenly blew out while the aircraft was at 16,000 feet. Everyone survived the incident.
The six passengers who filed a potential class-action lawsuit against Boeing in King County Superior Court in Seattle claim they are owed compensation for injuries sustained during the incident, according to the Seattle Times.
According to the report, one plaintiff reported receiving a concussion, soft tissue injuries to her neck and back, and bleeding in one ear. Two other passengers said they had difficulty breathing, with one reporting they began to pass out.
Attorney Daniel Laurence from The Stritmatter Firm in Seattle, which is representing the passengers, called the incident a “nightmare experience” that has caused “economic, physical and ongoing emotional consequences that have understandably deeply affected our clients, and is one more disturbing mark on the troubled 737-MAX series aircraft.”
On Tuesday, Boeing CEO David Calhoun told employees in a meeting that the company was “acknowledging our mistake” in the wake of the incident.
According to the lawsuit, “Calhoun calls the defect that led to this lived nightmare ‘our mistake’ and publicly admitted, by his implication, that the plug was not properly secured to the fuselage either during manufacture or otherwise while the aircraft was being built by Boeing, and/or its subcontractor, Spirit AeroSystems,” the lawsuit reads.
The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded all 737 MAX 9s with these plug doors as Boeing revises its inspection guidelines following industry feedback.