January 12, 2024
Alaska Airlines Offers $1,500 To Passengers After Door Panel Blew Off Mid-Flight
Alaska Airlines is attempting to do some damage control after going viral when an airplane door panel blew off mid-flight.
Alaska Airlines is attempting to do some damage control after going viral when an airplane door panel blew off mid-flight.
Shocking videos surfaced across social media last week when passengers watched a door panel tear off the left side of an Alaska Airlines jet following takeoff, Reuters reports. Pilots swung into action and quickly turned back to land safely.
The jet’s door panel was later found inside a woman’s front yard in suburban Portland, Oregon.
All 171 passengers and six crew members were safe. However, several passengers did suffer injuries from the jet that had only been in service for eight weeks.
On Thursday, January 11, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced an investigation into Boeing due to the incident, NBC News reports.
“This incident should have never happened and it cannot happen again,” the FAA said.
The administration will look into whether Boeing “failed to ensure completed products conformed to its approved design and were in a condition for safe operation in compliance with FAA regulations.”
As some sort of solace, Alaska Airlines is offering compensation to passengers who survived the mid-flight emergency.
“Alaska Airlines provided a full refund to each guest on Flight 1282. As an immediate gesture of care, within the first 24 hours, we also provided a $1,500 cash payment to cover any incidental expenses to ensure their immediate needs were taken care of,” the airline told People.
Additionally, the airline offered “24/7 access to mental health resources and counseling sessions, and noted they will “continue to work with them to address their specific needs and concerns.”
However, one passenger doesn’t think that $1,500 is enough and is considering taking legal action against the airline.
“I haven’t fully processed if that payment is enough or not,” passenger Nicholas Hoch, 33, told the Washington Post on Wednesday. “I don’t know how this is going to affect me in the coming weeks and months, you know?”
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