At the start of October, a video of a Frontier Airlines (FRON) plane setting down on a Las Vegas landing strip with its undercarriage in flames caught the attention of the internet.
While the footage was dramatic, the plane carrying nearly 200 passengers from San Diego to Sin City was able to make a landing and evacuate without any casualties. A later investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the pilot declared an emergency landing after smoke was detected in the cabin (as the plane was so close to its destination, the plane was simply able to land without being rerouted.)
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Three weeks after the incident, three passengers who were on Flight 1326 filed a lawsuit claiming they suffered trauma from being on a flight that "violently crash-landed."
‘Caused the plane’s tires to explode and its landing gear to collapse’
“The incident unfolded as Flight 1326 was en route from San Diego, California to Las Vegas, Nevada when, without warning to the passengers, the plane violently crash-landed at Harry Reid International Airport," reads the lawsuit filed through the Dimopolous Law Firm in Nevada. "The impact was so strong that it caused the plane’s tires to explode and its landing gear to collapse, resulting in the aircraft catching fire."
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While no injuries were reported at the time of the landing, the three passengers claim they suffered resulting problems that cost them a collective $30,000 in medical bills. They are also claiming distress and loss of wages and household services that they are no longer able to perform due to the claimed injuries.
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‘Traumatized and injured passengers were stranded’
“The traumatized and injured passengers were stranded inside the sweltering smoke-filled aircraft for nearly an hour before being evacuated,” the lawsuit reads further.
The FAA is still investigating the incident and has not yet released a report on the cause of the fire. On Oct. 5, Harry Reid Airport officials said the plane “experienced a hard landing where basically tires blew.”
The law firm representing the three plaintiffs, Dimopoulos Law, is a well-known personal injury firm in the Las Vegas area. It once went viral on the internet after boxing champion Mike Tyson was photographed in a T-shirt with its name on the front.
The lawsuit argues that the “crash landing was caused by Defendant’s failure to properly repair, inspect, maintain, and operate the aircraft in a reasonable and safe manner” — something that cannot be proven until the FAA report is complete and released. Some of the most common causes of plane engine fires include fuel leaks, equipment malfunctions and improper cargo transportation.
This week, a Delta Air Lines (DAL) flight from Boston to Rome was canceled at the last minute after a suspected engine fire. A day earlier, a United Airlines UAL Airlines flight also taking off from Boston was put off after the engine caused a small fire on the grass behind the plane.
Frontier could not be immediately reached for comment on the lawsuit and has previously issued statements saying that it does not comment on pending litigation.
