Boeing to be Sued by Asiana Passengers
Asiana Boeing 777 Crash at SFO
83 passengers who were aboard the Asiana flight 214 plane that crashed in San Francisco plan to sue Boeing Airplanes, alleging that a malfunction of the plane’s auto-throttle may have caused the crash.
Ribbeck Law Chartered on Monday filed a petition for discovery, which is meant to preserve evidence, in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, where the aircraft manufacturer is headquartered. The firm said in a news release that additional pleadings will be filed against Asiana Airlines and several component parts manufacturers in coming days.
In addition to potential problems with the Boeing 777’s auto throttle, some emergency slides reportedly opened inside the plane, injuring passengers and blocking their exit, and some passengers had to be cut out of their seatbelts with a knife, the firm contends.
Three Chinese teenage girls were killed when the airplane, carrying 307 passengers and crew on a flight from South Korea to San Francisco International Airport on July 6, approached the runway too low and slow. The plane clipped a seawall at the end of a runway, tearing off the tail and sending the plane spinning down the runway. The impact caused the plane to catch fire.
“We must find the causes of the crash and demand that the problems with the airline and the aircraft are immediately resolved to avoid future tragedies,” attorney Monica R. Kelly, head of Ribbeck’s aviation department, said in a written statement.
Boeing spokesman John Dern said the company had no comment.