83 survivors to sue Boeing and Asiana

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criticalbass

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No doubt the first of many. Let the lawyer jokes begin!

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/07/17/law-firm-says-it-suing-boeing-over-asiana-crash/#ixzz2ZIn9e1hN

CHICAGO - A Chicago law firm says it has taken steps to sue aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. on behalf of 83 people who were aboard the Asiana Airlines flight that crash-landed in San Francisco earlier this month, claiming in a court filing that the crash might have been caused by a mechanical malfunction of the Boeing 777's auto throttle.

Ribbeck Law Chartered on Monday filed a petition for discovery - a move meant to preserve evidence - in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, where Boeing is headquartered. The law firm said in a news release that additional pleadings will be filed against Asiana Airlines and several component parts manufacturers in coming days. Ribbeck said that in addition to potential problems with the auto throttle, some emergency slides reportedly opened inside the plane, injuring passengers and blocking their exit, and some passengers had to be cut out of their seatbelts with a knife.

Three people were killed when the airplane, carrying 307 passengers and crew on a flight from South Korea to San Francisco International Airport on July 6, approached the runway too low and slow. It clipped a seawall at the end of a runway, tearing off the tail and sending the plane spinning down the runway. The impact caused the plane to catch fire.

''We must find the causes of the crash and demand that the problems with the airline and the aircraft are immediately resolved to avoid future tragedies,'' attorney Monica R. Kelly, head of Ribbeck's aviation department, said in a written statement.

Boeing spokesman John Dern said the company had no comment.

The petition asks a judge to order Boeing to identify the designer and manufacturer of the airplane's autothrottle and its emergency evacuation slides. It also seeks information on the systems that indicate the airplane's glide slope and that warn how close it is to the ground. Kelly said the firm wants to protect the wreckage ''from destructive testing'' and to obtain maintenance records, internal memos and other evidence.

The pilots of Asiana Flight 214 have told investigators they were relying on automated cockpit equipment to control their speed. Inspectors found that the autothrottle had been ''armed,'' or made ready for activation, but investigators are still determining whether it had been engaged, the National Transportation Safety Board has said.

Two of the plane's eight slides malfunctioned, opening inside the cabin and pinning two flight attendants underneath.
 

FamousAJ

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as an Aerospace employee, this peeves me. Too bad they can't revise the GARA to stop this BS. The General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994 (GARA) immunized makers of GA aircraft against lawsuits for defects in products older than 18 years. I understand the issue and that someone should be held accountable, but let's find the issue/problem of the malfunction and then go from there.

Too quick to point fingers...'merica! let's sue...'merica! blame some one else...'merica! it's not my job...'merica!
 

cjjtulsa

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Must be Boeing's fault that the pilot drug the 777's ass on the sea wall.

They just build the planes, they can't fly them for the airlines, too.
 

ahamay6

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As I understood it, all the pax were out of the plane when rescue crews arrived. I wonder how they got the knives through security to cut the belts off of the ones who couldn't unbuckle. I know it was out of Korea and that TSA NEVER misses anything, but...
 

R. Johnson

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Yeah, not Boeing's fault the pilot sucked. The emergency slides deploying inside the cabin was also likely the crew's fault. As for the seatbelts, well, that happens. Seatbelts just do that. I'm sure Boeing will settle.
 

criticalbass

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Yeah, not Boeing's fault the pilot sucked. The emergency slides deploying inside the cabin was also likely the crew's fault. As for the seatbelts, well, that happens. Seatbelts just do that. I'm sure Boeing will settle.

The malfunction of the two slides was almost certainly a result of the crash. Not sure about the seatbelt issue, but operator malfunction is my suspicion. Hurt and/or scared people in a huge rush can easily manifest as an inability to unbuckle. The belts used in airliners are tested to an unbelievable level.

Regarding puncturing the bad slides, one was done by a crew mamber with a fire axe, and the other with a knife tossed by an LEO on the ground to someone on the aircraft. This came from early reports and may or may not be accurate.

Here's a link to how it should be done. http://www.wimp.com/approachlanding/
 

ripnbst

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There should be no "auto" anything used on landing.

But there is. However, the pilots on the flight deck in this particular plane were almost all "newbies". Not new to flying, but new to this aircraft. The auto systems from Boeing planes to Airbus planes differs substantially. One of the pilots who was in the cockpit, I wont say flying because clearly none of them were, was new to the Boeing jet and was coming from years in an Airbus plane.
 

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