The first lawsuit was filed Thursday on behalf of a passenger injured in a Jet Blue turbulence incident on August 11th.
Jet Blue flight 429 from Boston to Sacramento was diverted to South Dakota after 22 passengers were injured along with two crew members.
Xuan Phan, 55, was headed home to Sacramento after spending more than a month in Boston helping with her new grandson.
The lawsuit claims the "fasten seatbelt" sign was off when Phan got out of her seat to walk to the restroom. In the severe turbulence Phan was knocked to the floor and then hit the ceiling. She had a concussion and injuries to her neck and shoulder.
"How was this flight allowed to fly straight into a thunderstorm and the passengers weren't warned?" questioned Phan's attorney, Sean Gamble.
"I think the public expects our pilots to have accurate up to the minute weather information. So to find out that isn't being provided to pilots is very concerning."
Cliff Mass, University of Washington professor of atmospheric sciences, happened to be on a different flight on August 11th, about 150 miles north of Jet Blue Flight 429.
Mass said he could see the thunderstorm on his computer. He's been asked to testify as an expert witness in Phan's case.
"The irony is that someone in the back of the plane on a laptop or pad that's on wifi has had way more weather information than the pilots that are running the flight and that shouldn't be," said Mass.
He wrote about a lack of real-time weather data for pilots on his blog.
"I've had a number of pilots that have contacted me, some anonymous, some not, saying this is a real problem this needs to be dealt with," said Mass.
He's also heard from a few airlines.
Mass said the FAA and airlines have been refining guidelines for the use of I-pads and laptops in the cockpit.
"Jet Blue just announced this week they're going to have pads in the cockpit deck that will be able to get weather information in real-time. Alaska Airlines has a lot of interest and they're working on a plan to give their pilots real-time weather information," said Mass.
KIRO 7 reached out to Jet Blue to ask about real-time weather data and the lawsuit and is still waiting for a response. A Jet Blue spokesman did say the company does not usually comment on pending litigation.
Phan's attorney hopes the lawsuit encourages airlines to improve technology.
"We should make travel safer for all of us," said Gamble.
Cox Media Group
