Sixteen passengers are suing American Airlines after their flight caught fire when it diverted earlier this year.
Shortly after taking off from Colorado Springs on March 13, the pilots of American Flight 1006 reported that one of the engines was vibrating.
They decided to divert to nearby Denver International Airport, landing there an hour after takeoff.
After taxiing to the gate, the vibrating engine caught fire. Passengers evacuated the Boeing 737 by emergency slides, and 12 people were taken to the hospital with injuries.
Monday’s lawsuit, filed in the Colorado District Court, accuses American of three counts of negligence and one of “gross extreme and outrageous conduct.”
It says the pilots should’ve declared an emergency earlier, questions why they didn’t divert back to Colorado Springs, and raises maintenance issues with the plane.
The suit cites air traffic control recordings after the pilots chose to divert, with the controller checking: “American 1006, just to verify, you’re not an emergency still, correct?”
They also appeared to decline “any extra assistance or certain speed on the arrival,” referring to firefighting and rescue vehicles.
Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report said that fluid was leaking from the engine while the plane was taxiing to the gate.
It wasn’t until the engine caught fire at the gate that the pilots declared Mayday, the suit adds.
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“Passengers screamed, pushed, and jumped, desperate to escape the burning aircraft,” it says.
One of the plaintiffs, who was pregnant, “covered her minor son … with her shirt to keep him safe,” per the suit.
It also states that an emergency slide failed to deploy, accusing the airline of “failing to use reasonable care in maintaining the aircraft.”
The NTSB report also found that one of the engine’s fan blades was fractured, and another part was incorrectly fastened, allowing fuel to leak from it.
Monday’s lawsuit accuses the airline of “hiring employees, agents, and representatives without the requisite experience to properly operate and maintain the Aircraft.”
The plaintiffs have asked for a trial by jury, and a scheduling conference is due to take place on November 3.
American Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent from Business Insider.
