DENVER – Two passengers who were on board a United Airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing after one of its engines crashed and caused rubble to rain in the Colorado neighborhood, the company sued on Friday.
Joseph McGinley of Honolulu and Jonathan Strawn of Sioux City, Iowa, said in separate lawsuits in Chicago, where United are based, that they sustained personal, emotional and financial injuries following the failure of the February 20 Boeing 777 engine.
United declined to comment on the lawsuits, Leslie Scott said.
The video, posted on Twitter at the time, shows the engine in flames after the Denver plane took off. Passengers on their way to Honolulu said they were afraid the plane would crash after an explosion and flash of light, while people on the ground said they saw large pieces of the plane fall, missing only one house and ‘ a truck crashes.
No injuries were reported in the plane or on the ground.
“Imagine a passenger looking through the window of an airplane and helplessly looking at the burning engine. The terror you are experiencing lasts a lifetime, ‘Chicago Attorney Robert A. Clifford said in an announcement about the lawsuits.
His firm also represents families of 72 passengers who died when a Boeing 737 MAX crashed in Ethiopia in 2019.
The National Transportation Safety Board is examining the motorcycle of the United aircraft, but said microscopic examination supports early suspicion that wear and tear caused the fan in the engine to crack.
In each lawsuit, passengers are asked to pay a sentence above the $ 50,000 limit, along with other costs and damages.