Alaska Airlines flight attendants file a lawsuit against Boeing for grounding a flight due to a faulty door.
In early August 2025, four Alaska Airlines flight attendants who were aboard Flight 1282 have filed a lawsuit against Boeing, alleging negligence and seeking compensation for physical and psychological injuries sustained during a door plug separation incident on a Boeing 737 Max 9 that occurred in January 2024.
The crew's lawsuits are separate from earlier passenger lawsuits over the same incident. Notably, three passengers had sued Boeing and Alaska Airlines seeking $1 billion in damages but settled for an undisclosed amount in July 2025. The flight attendants' complaints emphasise Boeing’s alleged manufacturing negligence that caused the door plug blowout, claiming the aircraft was delivered in an unsafe condition.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the incident and attributed ultimate responsibility to Boeing, citing inadequate training, poor oversight, and missing installation bolts on the door plug as key factors. Following the event, Boeing and Alaska Airlines have faced regulatory scrutiny and ongoing monitoring, including FAA inspections embedded in Boeing’s operations.
As of the latest reports in early August 2025, the flight attendants' lawsuits remain active and have not been dismissed or settled. One source mentioned a dismissal with prejudice on July 7, 2025, but this appears to relate to passenger lawsuits, not the crew’s cases.
The four flight attendants—Adam Fisher, Michelle Hughes, Steven Maller, and Christine Vasconcellos—are suing Boeing for personal, permanent, and pecuniary injuries sustained during the incident. Michelle Hughes stated that the incident profoundly impaired her personal and professional life and resulted in many challenges to return to her dream job. Christine Vasconcellos stated that the event should never have happened and she is committed to seeking justice, accountability, and making the sky a safe place.
Tracy Brammeier, representing the flight attendants, stated that they acted courageously during the incident, following their training and putting passengers' safety first while fearing for their lives. The flight attendants are seeking to be wholly compensated for the life-altering, traumatic experience caused by Boeing's negligence in the 737 MAX production process. Boeing declined to comment on the suit.
The lawsuits filed against Boeing over the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident are in King County Superior Court, Seattle, Washington. Passengers captured footage showing a hole where the door plug came loose, and the mid-exit door plug separated from the Boeing 737 Max 9 passenger plane on Jan. 5, 2024, minutes after the flight took off from Portland International Airport. The plane safely made an emergency landing, and no one was seriously injured in the incident.
- Despite some settlements with passengers, the lawsuits filed by the flight attendants of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, including Adam Fisher, Michelle Hughes, Steven Maller, and Christine Vasconcellos, continue to be active in King County Superior Court, Seattle, Washington, seeking compensation for personal, permanent, and pecuniary injuries.
- The flight attendants' allegations against Boeing for the door plug separation incident on a Boeing 737 Max 9, which occurred in January 2024, encompass claims of manufacturing negligence in the aerospace industry and financial damages in the general-news domain, as they strive for justice, accountability, and improved safety standards within the industry.
