Passengers Kept on Plane File Suit

Passengers who spent eight hours on board a parked Northwest Airlines jet at Detroit Metropolitan Airport while snow blocked arrival gates have sued the company alleging negligence and forced imprisonment. Timothy and Susan Koczara, who filed the suit, were two of an estimated 4,000 passengers that Northwest kept trapped on 30 airplanes as water supplies ran out, toilets overflowed and panicked passengers threatened to activate emergency exits, attorney Larry Charfoos said. The suit said Northwest had ample time to prepare for last weekend’s storm. Northwest spokeswoman Kathy Peach said the airline agrees the situation was unacceptable but was dealing with an extraordinary string of events.