Posted on 04/28/2018 3:52:24 PM PDT by BBell
One of the passengers on the Southwest flight which made an emergency landing following engine failure has filed a lawsuit against the airline, as well as the makers of the plane and engine. When the engine exploded, pieces of it blew out a window on the plane, causing a woman to be killed when she was partially sucked out the window.
Lilia Chavez filed suit against Southwest Airlines, GE Aviation, Safran Aircraft Engines and CFM International, a supplier of jet engines, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Thursday. Chavez alleges in the lawsuit that the companies "unforgivably breached" the trust of passengers who "entrust their lives and safety, to entities such as Southwest and the CFM Defendants."
Jennifer Riordan, 43, was the first person to die on an American airline in almost 10 years in the April 17 incident. The plane, destined for Dallas, had taken off from LaGuardia International Airport in New York when the engine blew about 20 minutes into the flight. The pilot managed to safely land the plane in Philadelphia.
Chavez was sitting three rows behind where Riordan was partially sucked out the window, the lawsuit says.
"Ms. Chavez witnessed the horror as the force of the depressurization pulled an innocent passenger partially through the shattered window and she watched as passengers risked their lives to pull the passenger back into the aircraft and save her life," the lawsuit says.
According to Chavez, the cabin became "a whirlwind of airflow and airborne debris which struck Ms. Chavez and obstructed her breathing."
In the filing, Chavez says she "prayed and feared for her life" and she called her children to tell them she loved them and was preparing to die. Once the flight landed, Chavez alleges workers for Southwest did not appropriately care for her and fellow passengers.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Regular old negligence would be sufficient, but the plaintiff would have to prove that the defendants knew or should have know that there was a problem with the engine. If they had done all required maintenance and had no prior warning negligence will be hard to prove.
If said car crash was caused by mechanical failure your survivors SHOULD sue. Engine blew up, this sure as hell wasn’t the passengers’ fault and sure as hell WAS Southwest’s job to make not happen.
It’s like blaming gun manufacturers and the NRA......never mind.
Yes of course.
The pressure differential moved the air from in to outside.
The same thing happens when one shakes a beer and it foams over or the cork is popped on a bottle of champagne
I remember that was in Hawaii. Horrible but glad it landed safely. Lost both right engines right after it happened. Heck of a pilot to bring it back. I remember seeing that picture and if I saw it now I would think it was photoshop.
LOL!!
She can do both. I don’t ask for much when I take a flight but not seeing a woman sucked through a window and then pulled back in dead isn’t too much to ask.
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New Jersey values?
30 years tomorrow!!!!!!
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I watched a report on this accident and it claimed most commercial pilots will go through their entire career without experiencing a non-contained engine explosion like this.
You'll notice flights out over the ocean along the eastern seaboard.
MY favorite website-——I track all the family flights——fun!
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As a long-time airline employee, from what I seen in the media, there is no way that they are not liable for what happened. That said, they are also being very proactive in contacting people and writing checks in advance.
They learned well from the Midway accident.
And culturally, this quite a shock for the Southwest people. They have prided themselves on never having a passenger casualty in thier history, and they have a hell of a safety culture, despite the obvious failing in this incident.
In the filing, Chavez says she "prayed and feared for her life" and she called her children to tell them she loved them and was preparing to die.
If she was talking on the phone, she was breathing fine. If she actually believed she was having difficulty breathing, she could have tried putting on an oxygen mask.
I doubt that this lawsuit will go anywhere.
I’m surprised she hasn’t sued the Captain for saving the plane.
Everyone is always looking to score.
You're asking the airline to control random events.
Make sure that you get that guarantee in writing from the next airline company you choose to fly with.
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