Boeing may be sued over 737 MAX crashes that killed 346: US

San Francisco, United States:

The U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday that Boeing could be sued over two subsequent 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people roughly five years ago.

Boeing violated obligations under an agreement that protected it from lawsuits over the crashes, department officials said in a letter to a federal court in Texas.

Boeing told AFP “we believe we have honored the terms of that agreement” and said it plans to defend itself.

U.S. officials said in their letter that Boeing violated its obligations under a deferred prosecution agreement (DFA) by “failing to design, implement and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws in all its operations.”

Such a violation would mean Boeing could be sued for any violation of federal law related to the crashes, according to U.S. law enforcement officials.

The government is evaluating how to proceed on the matter and has instructed Boeing to respond by June 13.

U.S. authorities also plan to talk to the families of people who died in the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.

“This is a positive first step and it will be a long time coming for the families,” said attorney Paul Cassell, who represents the families of accident victims.

Cassell called for further action from the Justice Department and added that he would seek details on a “satisfactory remedy” for Boeing’s wrongdoing.

In March 2019, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed southeast of Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board.

It was the second accident in five months involving a 737 MAX aircraft, a product line intended to replace the 737 NG.

The first accident, involving a MAX 8 operated by Lion Air, occurred in October of the previous year in the Java Sea, Indonesia, and left 189 dead.

Both aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, and subsequent investigations highlighted problems with the automated flight system.

Aircraft have been temporarily grounded or banned from airspace around the world.

“We will contact the Department with maximum transparency, as we have done throughout the term of the agreement,” Boeing said in a statement to AFP.

He said this also included “answering your questions following the Alaska Airlines 1282 crash.”

The dramatic mid-flight explosion on Jan. 5 of a fuselage panel on an Alaska Airlines plane precipitated the departure of a number of senior Boeing officials — including CEO Dave Calhoun, who is expected to step down at the end of the year. .

It also resulted in reduced production of the 737 MAX.

Multiple queries, audits

The US Federal Aviation Administration was heavily criticized after the crash of two Boeing 737 MAX planes in 2018 and 2019.

But as Boeing faces multiple investigations and audits in the United States and abroad, it has repeatedly assured critics that it is working “with full transparency and under the supervision” of FAA regulators.

The DPA required Boeing to pay $2.5 billion in fines and restitution in exchange for immunity from criminal prosecution over allegations it defrauded the government during the MAX certification.

A federal judge in Texas early last year rejected a challenge brought by relatives of Boeing 737 MAX crash victims to the aviation giant’s U.S. criminal settlement, ruling against ordering changes to the controversial January 2021 DPA.

The families argued that Boeing’s role in what they called the “deadliest corporate crime” in U.S. history merits criminal condemnation of the company and its top brass.

(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)