Two Missouri women sue United Airlines after jet engine caught fire during flight
Two Raymore women are suing United Airlines for emotional distress they endured after a jet engine blew up during their Hawaii-bound flight in February.
The incident caused a panic among passengers as the pilots were forced to make an emergency landing.
Cynthia Pugh, 61, and Kelli Dennis, 60, were passengers on the Boeing 777 on Feb. 20 when the engine malfunctioned, bursting into flames and bobbling around on the wing as debris fell over the Denver metro area. In separate civil suits filed this week against the airliner, Dennis and Pugh allege the company was negligent in allowing the plane to take off to begin with and say the event has traumatized them.
“That truly was a harrowing experience for them, not knowing if the pilots could control the plane, if they could safely land it or not,” said Richard Burke, of Chicago-based Clifford Law Offices, which is representing the women and seven other passengers in civil lawsuits against the airliner. “So, they were very concerned that those were their last moments.”
“They were clearly fearful that they were going to die, to put it bluntly,” Burke added, saying the whole incident should not have occurred in the first place.
United said in a statement Friday the company does not comment on active litigation.
On Feb. 20, United Airlines Flight 328 had been in the air for less than 30 minutes before passengers heard a loud bang. Some filmed the engine as it rattled around on the wing as the pilots doubled back to Denver and made an emergency landing. The plane left a large debris field captured by local television reports.
No injuries were reported on the ground that day and none of the 229 passengers or the 10 crew members were injured.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident. Early findings from the federal agency suggest the engine’s fan blades may have been damaged when the airplane took flight.
The lawsuits were filed in Chicago, where United Airlines is headquartered. The Clifford firm also is representing families of 72 of the passengers who died when a Boeing 737 MAX crashed in Ethiopia in 2019.
This story was originally published June 4, 2021 at 4:09 PM.
