DENVER (AP) – 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 Colorado neighborhoods, the company sued on Friday.
Joseph McGinley of Honolulu and Jonathan Strawn of Sioux City, Iowa, said in separate lawsuits in Chicago, where United is based, that they sustained personal, emotional and financial injuries after the failure of the Boeing 777 engine on February 20.
United declined to comment on the lawsuits, Leslie Scott said.
The video posted on Twitter showed the engine in flames after the Denver plane took off. Passengers on their way to Honolulu said they feared the plane would crash after an explosion and flash of light, while people saw large pieces of the plane fall to the ground, missing only one house and smashing a truck.
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 investigating the engine failure 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 said to be seeking a sentence above a $ 50,000 limit, along with other costs and damages.