We’ve been covering the Takata airbag scandal for some time now, and news has emerged of another potential fatality that may be directly linked to the defective airbags.
A woman reportedly died from injuries sustained in a car collision in July this year, which involved a Honda Accord 2002 said to be fitted with the recalled Takata airbags. In the incident, another vehicle failed to yield right of way and collided with the victim, and although authorities have yet to confirm whether or not the cause of death is linked to an exploding Takata air bag inflater, it has not been ruled out.
The Takata airbag scandal
Takata shocked the world when it was revealed that their inflater canisters were volatile and susceptible to exploding, and therefore shooting metal shrapnel into the cabin. Reportedly, the former third largest car parts maker in the world utilised ammonium nitrate to inflate their airbags, which is an explosive chemical that can be very unstable, with humidity and heat causing a higher chance of explosion.
In one fatality, a teenage girl tragically died after metal shrapnel from the inflater severed an artery in her throat.
The faulty airbags were recalled in over 100 million cars worldwide, and the potentially lethal inflaters have already reportedly caused 18 fatalities. So far, all but one fatality was in a Honda vehicle, and it’s thought that the latest victim maybe the 19th victim of the Takata airbag scandal.
Investigations underway
Police and regulators are investigating the accident, and have not yet identified a defective Takata airbag as the culprit. During the collision, both front seat airbags were inflated and deemed “consistent with previous Takata airbag events.”
A Public Affairs spokesperson said the victim “died of blunt force trauma”, but the victim’s stepfather disagrees, saying:
“It’s a mechanical error, mechanical failure. I’m angry that my daughter is gone and that something like this could’ve been prevented sooner… I only hope and pray that this doesn’t happen to another family.”
Honda dispute responsibility
In response to the fatality, Honda has reportedly claimed they notified owners of the car the victim was driving 21 times about the recall by mail, and called and emailed the owners ‘numerous times’.
A warning is also flagged on Honda’s website homepage, but the concern is whether the warnings truly reflect the level of risk involved with the dangerous Takata airbags. It’s thought that in the U.S. alone there are still over 98 million individual inflaters being used, meaning there is a huge number of people still at risk of serious injury and death.
Earlier this year in June, Takata filed for bankruptcy.