Lawsuit by Alaska Airlines passengers says people on earlier flight reported ‘whistling’ near door plug that blew out

Passengers on the Alaska Airlines plane that had a door plug blowout during a harrowing Jan. 5 flight allege that people on a previous flight on the same plane had reported a “whistling sound” near the plug and nothing was done about it, the attorney representing them said Wednesday.

“Boeing is still cutting corners on quality,” Mark Lindquist said in a statement announcing a lawsuit against the plane manufacturer and Alaska Airlines. “The company is cutting so many corners, they’re going in circles.”

According to the lawsuit, passengers from an earlier flight on the same airplane had reported the whistling sound to flight attendants, who then informed the first officer or pilot. The pilot took no action after checking the plane’s flight instruments, which indicated everything was normal, the lawsuit claims.

[Door plug bolts on Alaska Airlines jet likely missing, NTSB report on blowout says]

The 22 passengers on Flight 1282 who are suing Boeing and Alaska Airlines suffered a variety of physical and emotional injuries as a result of the blowout, the suit claims, including “severe stress, anxiety, trauma, physical pain, flashbacks and fear of flying.”

An Alaska Airlines spokesperson said the company couldn’t comment on pending litigation. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.