Passenger Claims Mental Injuries In Southwest Airlines Fatal Engine Explosion Lawsuit

April 27, 2018 by Alana Wise

A lawsuit against Southwest Airlines Co has been filed by a passenger who was flying on last week’s flight 1380, in which an engine exploded and one person was killed.

The lawsuit claims that since the accident, the passenger, Lilia Chavez, has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and other personal injuries.

The lawsuit was filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Dallas-based Southwest has been under intense scrutiny in the days since an engine on one of its Boeing 737 jets blew apart during an April 17 flight, killing one of 149 people aboard and raising concerns about the safety of similar engines.

Regulators at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the incident.

“Our focus remains on working with the NTSB to support their investigation,” Southwest said on Friday. “We can’t comment on any pending litigation. The safety and security of our employees and customers is our highest priority at all times.”

Last week’s incident marked the first fatality on a U.S. commercial passenger airline since 2009.

Southwest shares closed up 0.4 percent. They have lost 18.2 percent year to date. (Reporting by Alana Wise and David Shepardson.)