A Southwest Airlines plane
NEW ORLEANS – A California woman claims Southwest Airlines is at fault for an aircraft’s engine failure and her subsequent “injuries” last year.
Plaintiff Karen Wilson, a resident of Contra Costa County, filed her lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
“Defendant Southwest knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known, of the existence of the hazardous condition of the subject aircraft, including but not limited to the engine and/or its component parts, but failed to remedy the defect,” she wrote in her eight-page complaint.
Defendant Southwest, based in Dallas, Texas, sold and Wilson purchased a ticket to fly on Flight 2006 from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Kenner, Louisiana, to Phoenix Sky Harbor International in Arizona.
Flight 2006 departed from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport at 1 p.m. July 7, 2025 before suffering an engine failure and fire that caused it to return to the Louisiana airport to execute an emergency landing.
“The subject aircraft experienced a failure and/or malfunction of the left engine and the left engine caught fire, resulting in multiple explosion-like sounds and a strong smell of chemicals, and said engine failure caused the subject aircraft to violently shake,” the filing states.
The Boeing 737-800 was owned, operated, managed, maintained, and controlled by Southwest, the complaint states.
Wilson, in her lawsuit, describes the incident as “inexplicable,” claiming that aircraft engines do not fail or catch fire while in flight “absent a complete failure” to adhere to industry standards and government-required procedures.
She argues Southwest owed her and the other passengers on the flight “the highest duty of care.”
“The direct and proximate cause of the above-described incident was the negligence and legal fault of Defendant Southwest,” the lawsuit states.
Wilson contends the airline failed to provide a properly maintained, serviced, and inspected aircraft; failed to adequately and properly inspect and service the aircraft; failed to perform an adequate pre-flight inspection of the aircraft; and failed to adequately and properly instruct and train its employees.
“The subject aircraft, including but not limited to the engine and/or its component parts, constitutes a defect and presented an unreasonable risk of harm to Plaintiff, and that risk of harm was reasonably foreseeable,” the complaint states.
“Defendant Southwest caused and/or contributed to the subject incident due to its negligent hiring, training, and/or supervision of its employees.”
She alleges, as a result of the incident, she has suffered injuries, damages and losses, including past and future mental pain and suffering and emotional distress, as well as past and future medical expenses, loss of earning capacity, lost wages and future loss of wages.
Wilson seeks an award of compensatory damages, including special and general damages, and judicial interest and costs associated with the lawsuit.
Baton Rouge-based Joubert Law Firm APLC is representing Wilson in the action.
