A group of passengers who were aboard an Asiana Airlines flight that crash-landed last summer at San Francisco International Airport, filed a personal injury lawsuit against aircraft manufacturer Boeing, alleging that the airlines’ negligence contributed to the crash.
According to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, Boeing knew or should have known that its ‘777’ passenger jet had inadequate auto-throttle control and low airspeed warning systems.
The suit also contends that Boeing knew or should have known that the airline’s pilots were not properly trained in basic landing and safety management protocols and that the pilots of Asiana Airlines flight 214 were not qualified to fly on July 6, 2013.
Approximately 100 plaintiffs, many of them South Korean or Chinese nationals, are listed on the lawsuit. There were 307 people aboard the plane when it crashed.
“As a result of the crash, each of the plaintiffs sustained injuries, including but not limited to, bodily injury and resulting pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, medical treatment, loss of income, and medical expenses,” the suit states.
On Friday night, a Boeing spokesman was reached and stated that the manufacturer had no comment regarding the lawsuit.
“Boeing was aware that its low airspeed warning system was inadequate,” the suit states.
In addition, the lawsuit alleges that Boeing “failed to adequately train Asiana’s pilots” in its South Korean 777 training facility.
The wide-body commercial airliner tumbled across a San Francisco runway on July 6th. Three passengers were killed and more than 180 passengers were injured. Other lawsuits have previously been filed in the case.
The National Transportation Safety Board has said Asiana pilots told investigators they realized the approach speed was low and set the auto-throttle to correct it, but realized too late that the aircraft speed never increased.
The lawsuit filed Friday claims that “The design of the auto-throttle control systems, the auto-pilot control systems, and/or the low airspeed warning systems on the subject aircraft, their improper installation, and/or their defects, resulted in dangerously inadequate warnings to pilots about low airspeed, a common cause of airplane crashes.”
Boeing retrofitted hundreds of its 737 jetliners with low airspeed warning systems that give audible commands after a 2009 Turkish Airlines crash, the lawsuit says.
“Yet Boeing has not installed such systems in its 777 aircraft,” the suit alleges.
“Boeing knew or should have known that the training procedures for Asiana pilots were not up to par, and were putting passengers’ lives at risk,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit demands a jury trial and seeks unspecified damages.
For more information, contact one of our Gacovino Lake attorneys at 1-800-246-HURT (4878).
