Two months ago, a door plug on a PDX plane exploded just minutes after takeoff. Now, more passengers are suing the airline and the plane manufacturer.
Multnomah County, Oregon – On January 5, 2024, Kyle Rinker and his girlfriend boarded an Alaska Airlines flight to Ontario, California. They had made this particular flight several times before, and were expecting to land in about two hours.
However, on this day, what they experienced was nothing routine.
“We got off to a good start and after just five minutes we heard a loud pop,” he recalls. “We were sitting there trying to relax…and then, it happened. The oxygen masks fell off, just like: 'Oh, wow, something's going on.' We have to wear it.”
The sound was a door seal that blew the plane apart and left a large gap.
“We were on the other side of there,” he continued. “We were on 27E and F, and that was 26A, B and C, so we were very close. The wind came rushing in. It was very cold all of a sudden, because you're flying up there. At 16,000 feet.”
Rinker has spoken about these moments often over the past couple of months, as more news and updates have emerged.
“The crazy information attack. Of course, we wanted to learn more about…there were a lot of things,” he said. “Where we live, we hear a lot of plane noises and jet noises, so that's kind of a trigger to hear that sound again. No, we haven't been on a plane since. I'm not sure when that will happen again.”
Now, he and two other passengers – including his girlfriend – Boeing and Alaska Airlines are suing for $1 billion in punitive damages for systemic risks. The lawsuit was filed late last month in Multnomah County.
“This is mostly about systemic problems at Boeing, which put the lives of all passengers who fly on Boeing aircraft at risk,” attorney Jonathan Johnson said. “They shouldn't trust luck to avoid killing a planeload of people.”
Reports: Justice Department reviews investigation into Boeing door plug explosion
Johnson explained that although the aircraft manufacturer acknowledged its role in the explosion and made promises to fix the problems and do better, the lawsuit will push both 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.
KGW has reached out to both Boeing and Alaska Airlines for comment. They both refused our request.
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