A commercial airline captain has filed a lawsuit in Oregon state court against The Boeing Company and Spirit AeroSystems, alleging that missing hardware and manufacturing failures caused the midair door plug blowout aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 — and that Boeing later made statements that unfairly shifted blame onto the flight crew.
The complaint was filed December 30 in Multnomah County Circuit Court by Brandon Fisher, the pilot in command of the Boeing 737 MAX-9 that suffered an explosive decompression shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport on Jan. 5, 2024.
The lawsuit seeks at least $10 million in damages and includes claims of negligence, product liability, breach of warranty, emotional distress and defamation.
According to the complaint, the aircraft reached about 16,000 feet when a left-side mid-exit door plug separated from the fuselage, leaving a large hole near Row 26 of the passenger cabin.
The sudden loss of pressure forced an emergency descent and return to Portland.
Four passengers seated near the opening were injured, but all 171 passengers and crew survived.
The lawsuit states that Fisher and first officer Emily Wiprud followed emergency procedures, coordinated with air traffic control and landed the aircraft safely despite intense noise, flying debris and the loss of cabin pressure.
Fisher alleges he suffered ear pain and lasting physical and emotional effects from the event.
The complaint places responsibility for the blowout on missing bolts that were meant to secure the mid-exit door plug in place.
It alleges that during manufacturing and rework in 2023, the plug was opened to address damaged rivets but was later reinstalled without replacing four critical bolts designed to prevent upward movement of the door plug.
The aircraft was delivered to Alaska Airlines in October 2023 and entered service in November, despite the missing hardware, according to the filing.
Spirit AeroSystems, which manufactured the fuselage and installed the door plug in Wichita, Kansas, is accused of using non-standard installation practices and of concealing defective rivets by painting over them.
The lawsuit alleges Boeing later discovered the issues but failed to take corrective or disciplinary action and still signed off on inspections marking the aircraft as complete.
Beyond the manufacturing claims, Fisher also alleges that Boeing damaged his reputation after the incident.
The complaint points to a March 2024 court filing in a separate passenger lawsuit in which Boeing denied liability and suggested the aircraft may have been improperly maintained or misused by others.
Fisher says those statements were widely reported and implied fault by the flight crew, despite federal investigators concluding the pilots acted appropriately.
The lawsuit says the FBI later informed Fisher that he may have been the victim of criminally negligent conduct and that federal authorities concluded the incident was caused by manufacturing failures, not pilot error.
A Justice Department investigation into Boeing related to the incident is ongoing, according to the complaint.
Fisher, who lives in Vancouver, Washington, says the continued scrutiny and litigation stemming from the incident have caused lasting emotional distress and affected his quality of life.
He remains employed as a pilot and says he is widely regarded within the aviation community as having acted correctly under extreme circumstances.
When reached for comment, a representative for Boeing said, “We will not comment on pending litigation.”
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