The family of a 6-year-old Indiana boy killed when a Southwest Airlines jet skidded off a runway at Midway International Airport and slammed into a car in which he was riding on a nearby street filed a wrongful death lawsuit Friday against the carrier [Southwest Airlines] and Boeing Co., the manufacturer of the jet.
In the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, the parents of Joshua Woods allege Southwest was negligent in the Dec. 8 landing during a snowstorm for one or more of a host of errors-- from attempting to land when deteriorating weather conditions dictated that the plane should be diverted to another airport to failing to properly land the plane.
Such problems, as well as failing to maintain control of the jet and failing to calculate just how much of the runway was needed to make a safe landing, are evidence of Southwest's "utter indifference and conscious disregard for the safety of others," according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of the family of the Leroy, Ind., boy alleges that Boeing shares some of the blame for the collision because of problems with the plane's thrust reversers, which are used to slow down the aircraft.
According to the lawsuit, the aircraft was in an "unreasonably dangerous condition" when Boeing delivered it to Southwest because of one or more problems, including a failure to provide effective thrust reversers and warn pilots about the proper use of the thrust reversersFurther, according to the lawsuit, it was Boeing's software on the aircraft that "factored in the use of thrust reversers for runway calculations which gave an unrealistic margin of safety when interpreting how much stopping margin was available."
The thrust reversers have been at the center of the investigation of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board has said that the pilots should not have factored in the jet's thrust reversers when estimating how long it would take to stop the plane-- which overshot the runway, skidded through a fence and crushed the car in which Joshua was riding.
According to a preliminary investigation, the thrust reversers did not immediately kick in when the pilots tried to deploy them, and did not deploy until 18 seconds after landing.
Tim Neale, a spokesman for Chicago-based Boeing, said he had not read the lawsuit and declined comment. Beth Harbin, a spokeswoman for the Dallas-based Southwest, said the airline could not comment on anything that might be part of a pending lawsuit.
The lawsuit filed by Clifford Law Offices of Chicago and Schlyer & Associates of Merrillville, Ind., seeks damages in excess of $50,000.
The lawsuit does not name the city of Chicago or the airport. But Pamela Menaker, a spokeswoman for Clifford Law Offices, said a decision on whether to add either won't be made until the NTSB issues its final report on the crash.
Earlier this month, the city submitted a $40 million proposal to the Federal Aviation Administration to build collapsable concrete beds at the ends of runways at Midway to prevent planes from overshooting their landings.Chicago Sun Times
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