Emergency slide that fell off Delta plane washes up at home of lawyer whose firm is suing Boeing
Delta Boeing 767 at New York’s JFK Airport-1986207874.jpg
An emergency slide that fell off a Delta flight shortly after takeoff from the JFK Airport on Friday reportedly washed up outside the beach house of a lawyer whose firm is suing Boeing over safety issues.
Jake Bissell-Linsk, a New York attorney whose firm is taking legal action against Boeing after an Alaska Airlines plane lost a door plug midair in January, said he was surprised when he saw the slide outside his oceanfront home in Belle Harbor Queens on Sunday.
“We are right on the beach and I saw it was sitting on the breakers,” Mr Bissell-Linsk told the New York Post. “I didn’t want to touch it but I got close enough to get a close look at it,” he said after he found the deflated yellow slide at his Atlantic Ocean facing home, six miles southeast of JFK Airport.
“Our case is all about safety issues at Boeing, and this slide is literally right in front of my house.”
Confirming the find, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation told the New York Times that the airlines recovered “a large piece of debris” near Beach 131st Street in Belle Harbort.
The airline, bound for Los Angeles, was forced to return to New York on Friday after the cabin crew noticed a “non-routine sound from near the right wing”.
There were 176 passengers, two pilots and five cabin crew on board the plane, when the incident took place. The federal agency is investigating the incident.
Earlier, Delta confirmed to The Independent that the Boeing 767-300ER plane has been removed from service.
“As nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, Delta flight crews enacted their extensive training and followed procedures to return to JFK,” the spokesperson said at the time.
“We appreciate their professionalism and our customers’ patience for the delay in their travels.”
It was the latest in a string of issues involving Boeing’s aircraft and increased scrutiny on the company’s operations.
Mr Bissell-Linsk is partner to Labaton Keller Sucharow law firm that filed securities class action against Boeing on 30 January accusing the company of “prioritising its profit over safety”.
It is unclear if the firm will use the latest discovery in its lawsuit against Boeing, Mr Bissell-Linsk told the New York Post: “We haven’t decided if the slide is relevant to our case.”
The FAA is currently investigating issues at the company relating to tyres, cabin pressure and various engine or mechanical issues.
A whistleblower told a Congressional hearing last week that Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner is unsafe for operation, after an emergency door “blew out” on an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this year. On Sunday, a Boeing 737 was forced to make an emergency landing in South Africa after a rear wheel exploded during take-off.
The company’s CEO and two other executives announced their resignations at the end of March, while a $355m loss for the first quarter was announced Thursday as repairs and safety concerns take priority.
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