Is it safe to travel the friendly skies these days? For the last several weeks, United Airlines flights have suffered from mechanical difficulties that involve random airplane parts dropping off mid-flight.
United Airlines Flight 433 traveled from San Francisco to Oregon and landed on March 15, 2024, with a missing external panel. The Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport confirmed that the plane landed safely without incident. However, this incident was one of several United Airline flight issues this year:
United Flight 35 – Tire fell off a Boeing 777 during takeoff
- United Boeing 737-900ER spewed flames from an engine after takeoff from Houston
- United Boeing 737 Max slid off a runway in Houston
- United Boeing 777 trailed hydraulic fluid leaving Sydney
United transported 165 million passengers in 2003 and made $2.6billion in revenue. Thus far, there have been no injuries reported, though repeat incidents should be treated as a warning for the airline industry. Most of the planes involved are older; many of them have been in operation since the 1990’s.
Companies are held responsible if their products are defective. An individual product is defective if it strays from the original design. If a plane loses a tire during takeoff, that is clearly not intended by the makers. However, there may be instances where the design itself is flawed. When there is a design defect, a product was made correctly, but the product’s design is such that the product itself is unsafe no matter how well-built it was. It is unlikely there was a design defect though as these planes have been in operation for decades.
Thus far, the cause of the falling plane parts is unclear. If a crew member forgot to close something that would a human error. Conversely, the planes could be poorly maintained in which case United needs to do a better job maintaining them or replace them outright.
Presently, there are no lawsuits and it is unlikely that any lawsuits would be filed over these incidents. No one has been hurt and the airline caught these issues before anything serious occurred. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is reportedly investigating the incident. If plane parts continue falling out of the sky and people do get hurt, the lawsuits would likely commence.
Should I Contact a Lawyer If I Have Been Injured in an Airplane Accident?
If you have been injured as a result of flying, you should consult a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to see about protecting your rights with regard to pursuing compensation for your injuries.