The airline parts company that made the
door plugs that are the subject of the investigation of the Alaska Airlines
plane in which a side panel was blown out, was sued previously.
Spirit AeroSystems, which is
not affiliated with Spirit Airlines, was at the center of a class action
lawsuit claiming that the
company was manufacturing sub-par parts.
The lawsuit was filed in May
of 2023 and amended in December.
The incident happened last
week when a side panel blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane
midflight. The pilot was able to make an emergency landing despite the gaping
hole in the aircraft, and no injuries were reported.
The Federal Aviation
Administration has since grounded the impacted MAX 9 planes, which are
primarily used by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines in this country.
The lawsuit was filed on
behalf of investors in Spirit AeroSystems.
Both Alaska and United have
said they have since found loose door bolts on some of the jets they have in
their possession.
The previous lawsuit could
be a damning piece of evidence, especially an email from a former employee to
management claiming an "excessive amount of defects." None of the
claims in the email specifically touched on the door bolts but said that Spirit
AeroSystem's "quality failures were so severe and persistent that Boeing
even placed Spirit on probation for multiple years."
In a statement, Spirit said it "strongly disagrees with the assertions made
by plaintiffs in the amended complaint and intends to vigorously defend against
the claims. Spirit will not comment further as to the pending litigation."
The lawsuit alleges that “such
constant quality failures resulted partly from Spirit's culture which
prioritized production numbers and short-term financial outcomes over product
quality."
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