Flight Passengers Can Experience Ongoing Mental, Physical Distress After Emergencies

The New York Times (11/25, Lewis) reports that following an incident last January on an Alaska Airlines flight in which “one of the plane’s doors had blown off,” over “30 other passengers from the Alaska Airlines flight are suing the carrier and Boeing, the aircraft manufacturer, citing ‘severe stress, anxiety, trauma, physical pain, flashbacks and fear of flying and also objective physical manifestations such as sleeplessness, PTSD, hearing damage and other injuries.’”

Such “harm inflicted on passengers who experienced in-flight emergencies…ha s not been as researched or recognized.” The Times adds, “Neither the Federal Aviation Administration nor the National Transportation Safety Board has policies or recommendations regarding passenger mental health after emergencies.”

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— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

Posted in In The News.