Monitoring Desk
WASHINGTON: In two jet 737 Max crashes that claimed 346 lives, aircraft manufacturer Boeing, will appear in court to defend itself against a fraud accusation.
The Boeing 737 MAX passenger airliner was grounded worldwide between March 2019 and December 2020 – longer in many jurisdictions – after 346 people died in two crashes: Lion Air Flight 610 on October 29, 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10, 2019.
Flaws in the 737 Max aircraft’s flight control systems, which led to nosedives, were to blame for both accidents. Boeing was found to have hidden system information but avoided a trial by agreeing to pay $2.5 billion (£1.8 billion) in fines and compensation instead of going to court. The settlement is attempting to be reopened by the surviving family members.
Boeing 737 Max: What went wrong?
It has been almost four years since Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302, traveling from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, crashed shortly after takeoff. In March 2019, it crashed into farmland outside the Ethiopian capital, claiming 157 people’s lives. The 737 Max, a brand-new aircraft design, was involved in the tragedy.
On what should have been a routine trip from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang just a few months prior, an almost identical aircraft operated by the Indonesian airline Lion Air had crashed into the Java Sea.
People who lost their lives
One tragedy claimed the lives of 189 passengers and crew, while the other claimed the lives of 157 people from 35 different countries.
They were Sara Gebre Michael, a mother of three children from Ethiopia, a retired Nigerian diplomat named Abiodun Bashua, and 49-year-old Anthony Ngare, who served as Unesco’s deputy director of communications.
Three generations of one family came from Canada. Ashka and Anushka, two of their teenage daughters, and Kosha’s parents, Pannagesh and Hansini, were traveling with Kosha Vaidya and her husband, Prerit Dixit. All passengers had boarded the aircraft for the early-morning flight from Nairobi, Kenya, to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
Later it was discovered that both incidents were caused by design defects, particularly the use of the MCAS flight control program. The technology was created to help pilots who are used to flying older models of the Boeing 737 avoid the requirement for expensive additional training. However, sensor issues led to its malfunction, which in both instances, sent the aircraft into a catastrophic dive that the pilots were powerless to avoid.
Investigations in the United States revealed that Boeing had failed to include information regarding the MCAS system in pilot manuals or training guidelines and had purposefully sought to minimize the system’s impact in interactions with the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) accused Boeing of fraud in January 2021. By agreeing to pay $2.5 billion in fines and compensation and committing to improving its compliance systems, the company could avoid going to trial.
Many of the relatives of those who died aboard ET302 were extremely upset by this settlement, also known as a deferred prosecution agreement. They asserted—and still do—that the arrangement was a “sweetheart agreement” that was reached without their consent, violated their rights, and gave the business a way to escape being held entirely responsible.
The Department of Justice defended its decision, claiming that the settlement was justified since it could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was a direct link between Boeing’s alleged crimes and the two crashes.
Major milestone
The hearing comes after more than a year of a legal battle in a Texas court, where the families are trying to reopen the deal. Boeing has been told to submit an “appropriate person” to represent the company in court. It’s unclear who this person will be.
Meanwhile, family members of the victims are permitted to read impact statements to the court or request that these messages be read on their behalf. There is little doubt that the arraignment hearing itself is a significant milestone for families, particularly those who reside in the UK.
Zipporah Kuria’s father, Joseph Wathaika, died in the ET302 tragedy, and she has been an outspoken advocate for Boeing’s accountability ever since.
‘A cover-up is not justice.’
Mark Pegram, whose son Sam died on the same plane while working for a refugee group, has been unable to come to Texas. He did, however, express his gratitude for the hearing.
He told us that a fine and a cover-up do not constitute justice. It is essential that a precedent is established to prevent similar loss of innocent life and that Boeing recognizes the tragic impact their misconduct has had on so many families.
It is still unclear whether the legal action would reopen the Agreement between Boeing and the DoJ. A move like that would be pretty unusual. However, Robert A. Clifford, a Chicago attorney defending the families in a separate civil lawsuit, asserts that it might have far-reaching effects, including consequences for specific people.
He stated that these families want the greatest punishment imposed on Boeing and the removal of any immunity from prosecution granted to key executives at Boeing.
