Party Crash Landing

From a lawsuit filed by Bellevue resident Jewel Thomas against American Airlines for terrifying her during a September 2008, Seattle–to–New York flight that was diverted to Chicago O’Hare due to an onboard power failure.

Photo: istockphoto/ Illustration by Benjamen Purvis

“ACCORDING TO THE cockpit voice recorder, the captain stated: ‘Oh man, we’re still working with this problem that’s —it’s kind of stabilized but, uh, it’s weirding us out. We need a beer. Heineken.’ The flight attendant replied, ‘I think the whole crew is gonna have one with you guys.’ … When the subject flight touched down the thrust reversers on the subject aircraft did not deploy. The ground spoilers did not deploy. The antiskid system of the inboard wheels did not activate and the subject aircraft skidded off the runway. Plaintiff Jewel Thomas heard loud popping noises upon touchdown and could see the subject aircraft churning up dirt and ground cover through the window from her seat in the exit row. Seven of the eight main landing-gear tires were either blown out or deflated.”