Passenger from San Diego County Among 3 Suing Airline Over Emergency Landing

A San Diego County man is one of three people suing Frontier Airlines after the plane they were in “violently crash landed” in Las Vegas earlier this month.

According to a lawsuit filed Monday in Nevada, the impact left “traumatized and injured passengers” stranded inside the “sweltering smoke-filled aircraft.”

The Oct. 5 flight from San Diego to Las Vegas was carrying 190 passengers, when “without warning,” the plane crash landed at Las Vegas‘ Harry Reid International Airport, according to the complaint filed in Clark County District Court.

The lawsuit alleges the impact “was so strong that it caused the aircraft’s tires to explode and its landing gear to collapse resulting in the aircraft catching fire.”

The complaint, filed on behalf of San Diego County resident Eddie Frierson and Clark County residents Alberto Cardos-Ramirez and Ana Figueroa-Cueva, alleges negligence on the part of the airline, which said it could not comment on pending litigation.

Attorney Steve Dimopoulos, whose firm filed the lawsuit, said, “While the exact cause of the incident is not clear at this time, negligence may be inferred from the events that occurred.”

At the time of the crash, Frontier said in a statement that as the plane was landing, “the pilots detected smoke and declared an emergency. The aircraft landed safely and all passengers and crew were evacuated via airstairs.”

While the airline said no injuries were reported, this week’s complaint alleges there were an unspecified number of injured passengers aboard the plane after it landed. The complaint seeks general and special damages in excess of $30,000.