An Alaska Airlines passenger injured when a Boeing door panel was blown off at an altitude of 16,000 feet said his shoes and cell phone were sucked into a gaping gap next to him, and he “had to endure it for the rest of his life.”
Cuong Tran, 40, told the BBC that he was planning to take a nap with a friend when his plane was struck by the terrorist attack shortly after takeoff on January 5.
“The captain said we were over 10,000 feet in altitude. Then the hole blew out on us,” he said.
“I remember lifting myself up, and then the whole lower half of my body was sucked in by the howling wind.”
“It was probably the first time in my life that I felt like I wasn’t in control of everything,” he said, looking back at the other passengers who were clinging to him in shock.
“I couldn’t believe the whole situation,” he said, describing the “feeling of being out of control” as “pretty scary.”
“The suction was so strong that I was clinging to it until I died,” he recalls.
“Both of my shoes ended up being sucked out. I was wearing them pretty tight too,” he said, adding that his cell phone “disappeared” as well.
The entire ordeal lasted about 30 minutes before the plane made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport, but Tran said it “felt much longer.”
“I didn’t have a phone, so [I] “I had no idea what time it was, so I just sat there staring into the hole and praying that no more damage would happen,” he explained.
“That was the scariest moment, the waiting moment.”
The plane arrived safely at Portland Airport, and Tran, six other passengers and a flight attendant were treated for minor injuries.
He is currently recovering, but he is left with a “large scar” on his leg, which may remain in the future.
Tran is one of several passengers who have sued Alaska Airlines, Boeing and manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems for injuries sustained during the nightmarish flight.
They claim in a lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court in Washington state that the incident left them with “severe emotional distress, fear and anxiety,” according to the BBC.
The lawsuit seeks punitive, compensatory and general damages for negligence, product construction/manufacturing defect liability, and alleged failure to comply with duty to protect passengers from harm.
“The failures of Boeing, Spirit Aerosystems, and Alaska Airlines to maintain the aircraft in a safe and airworthy condition caused unnecessary trauma to our customers and perhaps all passengers on that flight.” said attorney Timothy A Loranger.
He told the BBC, adding that Tran’s “legs were almost sucked out of the plane”.
“It’s just scary,” he said.
But Loranger noted that the litigation process could take “several years” because so many people are involved.
A separate lawsuit against Boeing and Alaska Airlines was filed last month on behalf of 22 other passengers on the plane, also accusing the companies of negligence.
In the aftermath of the chaotic flight, a National Transportation Safety Board investigation found that four bolts securing the door plug were missing before the plane took off.
The Federal Aviation Administration also found dozens of problems related to the manufacturing process of Boeing’s 737 MAX jets. These include a mechanic at one of its major suppliers using hotel key cards and dishwashing detergent as makeshift tools for compliance testing.
The report said Boeing failed 33 of 89 product audits (examinations of specific aspects of the production line) and found a total of 97 violations. New York Times.
It was also revealed that the day before the flight, engineers and technicians were concerned about the increasing number of warnings and wanted to take the plane out of service for maintenance after its scheduled flight to Canada.
However, Alaska Airlines continued to operate the plane with some restrictions. According to the Times.
Airline officials confirmed the sequence of events to the Times, but said the warning did not meet the criteria to immediately remove the plane from service.
The newspaper has contacted Boeing, Alaska Airlines and Spirit AeroSystems for comment.
