Asiana Airlines Crash: Chicago Law Firm To Sue Boeing On Behalf Of 83 Crash Survivors

The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), which manufactured the long-range, twin-engine aircraft that crashed in San Francisco on July 6, is being sued by a Chicago-based law firm on behalf of the 83 passengers who survived the crash, Associated Press reported.

In a preliminary move, Ribbeck Law Chartered, a law firm that specializes in aviation cases, filed a discovery lawsuit, on Monday, on behalf of 82 Chinese passengers and one American passenger who survived the crash, asking Boeing to turn over the plane’s design, manufacturing and maintenance records.

‘‘We must find the causes of the crash and demand that the problems with the airline and the aircraft are immediately resolved to avoid future tragedies,’’ Monica R. Kelly, head of Ribbeck’s aviation department, said in a statement cited by AP.

The petition was filed in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, where Boeing is headquartered, AP reported, adding that petitions also are expected to be filed against Asiana and manufacturers of other components of the plane.

Regarding the lawsuit, which focuses on the plane’s automated throttle and emergency evacuation systems, a Boeing spokesperson told AP that the company had no comments.

Although the National Transportation Safety Board’s review of the flight that crashed in San Francisco showed no abnormal behavior, it noted that the plane’s automated systems recorded unexplained "autopilot and autothrottle modes" leading up to the crash, NBC News reported.

The reason behind the premature opening of the evacuation chutes is also unexplained, the report noted, prompting survivors to file the lawsuit.

Kelly told NBC News that the law firm is seeking answers to these anomalies, and the firm would “leave no stone unturned," and a former chief investigator for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada would be investigating the case on behalf of the law firm.

On Monday, two passengers of the ill-fated plane sued Asiana Airlines in a federal court in California alleging that the aircraft's crew was responsible for "an extensive litany of errors and omissions" and are seeking about $5 million in compensation for "extreme bodily and mental injuries and economic damages," according to Reuters.