Passenger Says Seat Belt Saved His Life When Boeing 737 Door Panel Blew Out Mid-Flight

A passenger named Cuong Tran claims a seat belt saved his life when a door panel blew out on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 flight, causing rapid decompression. His foot was injured when it got trapped under the seat in front of him.

Tran and 6 other passengers filed a lawsuit against Alaska Airlines, Boeing, and Spirit AeroSystems, accusing them of negligence related to the incident which caused physical and psychological trauma.

This is the second lawsuit filed regarding this incident. Another 22 passengers previously sued Alaska Airlines and Boeing.

The FAA grounded all Boeing 737 Max 9 planes after this incident. An investigation found missing bolts that secure the door panel. The repairs were done by Spirit AeroSystems contractors.

The U.S. Justice Department has reportedly launched a criminal investigation into Boeing to see if the company complied with a 2021 settlement related to 737 Max safety after 2 previous deadly crashes.