Kreindler Retained by Passengers of Southwest Flight 2294 After Hole in Fuselage Causes Explosive Decompression of Cabin on a Boeing 737
Attorney
Kreindler was retained by passengers to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Southwest Flight 2294 emergency landing in Charleston, West Virginia, after explosive decompression of the cabin at 34,000 feet due to a hole in the fuselage.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-300 model, was en route from Nashville, Tennessee, to Baltimore, Maryland, on July 13, 2009, when a 17-inch-long hole developed at the top of the aircraft’s fuselage near the tail causing a rapid decompression of the passenger cabin and the plane’s oxygen masks to deploy.
Fuselage Inspections a Known Problem
One of the primary means for detecting holes in the fuselage and preventing such dangerous incidents from occurring is through careful fuselage inspections. Notably, just four months earlier, Southwest was assessed a penalty by the FAA of $7.5 million for flying its jets without fuselage inspections during 2006 and 2007. Kreindler’s investigation will certainly consider the adequacy of any fuselage inspections.
Similar Incidents
There is a striking similarity between Southwest Flight 2294 and Alaska Airlines Flight 536, which on December 26, 2005, also experienced a one-foot hole in the fuselage during a flight from Seattle to Los Angeles causing an explosive decompression and resulting in an emergency landing. Kreindler represented 39 passengers from Flight 536. Their claims were resolved for confidential settlement amounts.
Also, in 1999, Kreindler obtained the nation’s highest-ever award for emotional distress caused by turbulence for 13 passengers on American Airlines Flight 58. On June 25, 1995, the passengers of that plane experienced 30 seconds of severe turbulence as the aircraft rose and fell hundreds of feet while flying over Minnesota. The jury awarded a base of $150,000 for emotional distress.
About Kreindler & Kreindler
Founded in 1950, Kreindler & Kreindler is internationally recognized as the first and most prominent aviation law firm in the United States. The firm has been the leading plaintiff legal counsel on thousands of aviation cases, including major ones such as the September 11 terrorist attacks, Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Korean Airlines Flight 007, American Airlines Flight 587, and many cases of small private and commercial crashes. Its attorneys include airplane and helicopter pilots, engineers and other technical experts.
Kreindler has offices in New York, Boston and Los Angeles. For more information, contact Daniel Rose in New York at 212-687-8181.
Kreindler partner Dan Rose is handling this matter.