A passenger aboard the American Airlines flight that caught fire last month after diverting to and landing at Denver International Airport is suing the airline, according to a lawsuit filed in Denver District Court this week.
Jerry Adamson, a Texas man among the 172 passengers and six crew members who were forced to evacuate the burning American Airlines flight at DIA on March 13, is suing the airline for negligence and misconduct, court documents show.
“As a direct and proximate result of the negligent conduct of Defendants, Mr. Adamson has suffered, and will continue to suffer, injuries, damages and losses, including but not limited to past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish and emotional distress,” Adamson’s lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims the airline and its staff failed to use reasonable care in both the maintenance and operation of the Boeing 737-800.
It says the flight crew failed to properly follow emergency checklists and standard operating procedures, request timely emergency assistance, orderly evacuate the plane and move passengers away from the burning engine. The lawsuit also states that the plane should have been diverted back to Colorado Springs instead of rerouting to Denver.
American Airlines could not immediately be reached for comment.
Other allegations in the lawsuit include:
- The airline “breached its duty of reasonable care” by failing to properly train and retrain its employees, agents and representatives, which constitutes negligence.
- The airline was negligent in the hiring and supervision of its employees, agents and representatives.
- The airline failed to monitor its employees and ensure they were properly operating and maintaining the plane according to manufacturer checklists, maintenance manuals, operational manuals, handbooks, FAA requirements and procedures.
- The flight crew chose to operate an aircraft with known engine problems and chose to taxi with an improperly functioning engine instead of asking for airport assistance.
- The flight crew was reckless and engaged in “gross, extreme and outrageous conduct” that resulted in the emotional distress of passengers.
The plane, which took off from the Colorado Springs Airport at 4:52 p.m. en route to the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in Texas, was flying “atypically slow for a Boeing 787-900,” according to the lawsuit.
After about 20 minutes in the air, with “significant right engine vibration,” the flight was diverted to DIA, the lawsuit stated.
The flight crew told air traffic controllers at DIA that they were not declaring an emergency and denied offers for assistance on arrival, according to the lawsuit. After landing, the American Airlines plane taxied for about eight minutes before the right engine caught fire, billowing out thick clouds of smoke.
That’s when the plane’s crew made the first “Mayday” call.
While evacuating the plane, Adamson “inhaled copious amounts of smoke and fire retardant” before he was taken to a hospital, the lawsuit stated.
He was among a dozen people who were taken to and treated at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora. The 12 have since been released from the hospital.
As of Tuesday afternoon, a court date had not yet been scheduled.
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