Alaska

Alaska Airlines passengers refile Boeing door plug lawsuit

Published

2 years ago

June 17, 2024

Press Room

Alaska Airlines passengers refile Boeing door plug lawsuit

Close up of an Alaska Airlines aircraft on a runway, representing the Alaska Airlines lawsuit. — (Photo Credit: Ian Dewar Photography/Shutterstock)

Boeing lawsuit overview:

Who: A group of passengers on a Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines flight refiled a lawsuit against Alaska Airlines Inc. and The Boeing Company.
Why: They claim Boeing has a culture of “cutting corners” and failed to detect the missing bolts that caused a door plug to detach during their flight.
Where: The Boeing lawsuit was filed in Washington federal court.

Alaska Airlines passengers traveling on Jan. 5 when the door plug blew out during their flight have refiled their Boeing lawsuit claiming the company’s culture of “cutting corners” put their safety at risk.

Cuong Tran, Huy Tran, Ket Tran and Tram Vo filed the Boeing lawsuit against The Boeing Company, Spirit Aerosystems Inc., Alaska Airlines Inc. and 10 unnamed defendants a few days after voluntarily dismissing their earlier lawsuit filed in state court. Three minor children, listed only by their initials, are also included as plaintiffs.

During their flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, the left mid-exit door plug separated from the 737 Max 9 aircraft, “leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage,” the Alaska Airlines lawsuit says.

Rapid decompression of the passenger compartment caused phones, seatbacks and passengers’ clothing to be sucked out of the plane, the plaintiffs allege.

“As a result of this violent and terrifying event the passengers and crew suffered harm including physical injuries and serious emotional distress, fear and anxiety,” according to the Boeing lawsuit.

Boeing lawsuit says company has culture of ‘cutting corners’

The plaintiffs allege the door plug separated from the plane because arrestor bolts meant to prevent the plug from sliding had never been installed and suggest the oversight was part of a pattern of lax safety protocols within the company.

Within the last decade, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reportedly found Boeing failed to follow important safety protocols, such as marking assembly tasks as “complete” even though they were not completed. Boeing entered into a settlement over these issues in 2015 requiring the airplane manufacturer to implement mandatory safety improvements and regular auditing of its systems, the Boeing lawsuit explains.

The U.S. Department of Justice reportedly filed a criminal complaint against Boeing in 2021, and Boeing subsequently admitted to a count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement, Boeing again was supposed to strengthen its compliance programs and bolster its safety procedures.

However, the Alaska Airlines lawsuit asserts Boeing’s implementation of safety measures was inadequate and the plaintiffs blame the incident on Boeing’s “practice and culture … of cutting corners.”

They claim the disaster would have been prevented with reasonable quality control measures that would have detected the missing bolts and other potential problems with the door plug.

Another Alaska Airlines lawsuit was filed in January in King County Superior Court in Washington.

What do you think about the allegations in the Alaska Airlines lawsuit? Join the discussion in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Brian D. Weinstein, Alexandra B. Caggiano and Dylan J. Johnson of Weinstein Caggiano PLLC and Ari Friedman and Timothy Loranger of Wisner Baum.

The Boeing lawsuit is Cuong Tran, et al. v. The Boeing Company, et al., Case No. 2:24-cv-00791-JNW, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

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Alaska

Musician performs under the aurora in Nenana — without gloves, in 17 degrees

Published

11 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Musician performs under the aurora in Nenana — without gloves, in 17 degrees

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A musician with Alaska Native roots recorded an hour-long live set in Interior Alaska beneath the aurora.

Chastity Ashley, a drummer, vocalist and DJ who performs under the name Neon Pony, celebrated a year since she traveled to Nenana to record a live music set beneath the northern lights for her series Beats and Hidden Retreats.

Ashley, who has Indigenous roots in New Mexico, said she was drawn to Alaska in part because of the role drums play in Alaska Native culture. A handmade Alaskan hand drum, brought to her by a man from just outside Anchorage, was incorporated into the performance in February 2025.

Recording in the cold

The team spent eight days in Nenana waiting for the aurora to appear. Ashley said the lights did not come out until around 4 a.m., and she performed a continuous, uninterrupted hour-long set in 17-degree weather without gloves.

“It was freezing. I couldn’t wear gloves because I’m actually playing, yeah, hand drums and holding drumsticks. And there was ice underneath my feet,” Ashley said.

“So, I had to really utilize my balance and my willpower and my ability to just really immerse in the music and let go and make it about the celebration of what I was doing as opposed to worrying about all the other elements or what could go wrong.”

She said she performed in a leotard to allow full range of motion while drumming, DJing and singing.

Filming on Nenana tribal land

Ashley said she did not initially know the filming location was on indigenous land. After local authorities told her the decision was not theirs to make, she contacted the Nenana tribe directly for permission.

“I went into it kind of starting to tell them who I was and that I too was a part of a native background,” Ashley said. “And they just did not even care. They’re like, listen, we’re about to have a party for one of our friends here. Go and do what you like.”

Ashley said the tribe gave her full permission to film on the reservation, and that the aurora footage seen in the episode was captured there.

Seeing the aurora for the first time

Ashley said the Nenana performance marked her first time seeing the northern lights in person.

“It felt as if I were awake in a dream,” she said. “It really doesn’t seem real.”

She said she felt humbled and blessed to perform beneath the aurora and to celebrate its beauty and grandeur through her music.

“I feel incredibly humbled and blessed that not only did I get to take part in seeing something like that, but to play underneath it and celebrate its beauty and its grandeur.”

The Alaska episode is the second installment of Beats and Hidden Retreats, which is available on YouTube at @NeonPony. Ashley said two additional episodes are in production and she hopes to make it back up to Alaska in the future.

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Alaska

Over $150K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

Published

23 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Over 0K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – An Alaska drug task force seized roughly $162,000 worth of controlled substances during an operation in Juneau Thursday, according to the Juneau Police Department.

Around 3 p.m. Thursday, investigators with the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) approached 50-year-old Juneau resident Jermiah Pond in the Nugget Mall parking lot while he was sitting in his car, according to JPD.

A probation search of the car revealed a container holding about 7.3 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine, as well as about 1.21 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for fentanyl.

As part of the investigation, investigators executed a search warrant at Pond’s residence, during which they found about 46.63 gross grams of ketamine, 293.56 gross grams of fentanyl, 25.84 gross grams of methamphetamine and 25.5 gross grams of MDMA.

In all, it amounted to just less than a pound of drugs worth $162,500.

Investigators also seized $102,640 in cash and multiple recreational vehicles believed to be associated with the investigation.

Pond was lodged on charges of second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, five counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a substance and an outstanding felony probation warrant.

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Alaska

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

SAND POINT, Alaska (KTUU) – A teenage boy who was last seen Monday when the canoe he was in tipped over has been found by a dive team in a lake near Sand Point, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Alaska’s News Source confirmed with the person, who is close to the search efforts, that the dive team found 15-year-old Kaipo Kaminanga deceased Thursday in Red Cove Lake, located a short drive from the town of Sand Point on the Aleutian Island chain.

Kaminanga was last seen canoeing with three other friends on Monday when the boat tipped over.

A search and rescue operation ensued shortly after.

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team posted on Facebook Thursday night that they were able to “locate and recover” Kaminanga at around 5 p.m. Thursday.

“We are glad we could bring closure to his family, friends and community,” the post said.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more details become available.

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