A federal jury in Seattle is getting an up-close look at Boeing’s 737 Max saga this week as LOT Polish Airlines presses its claim that the company hid safety problems before the carrier signed on to the jet in 2016. LOT argues that alleged concealment left the airline on the hook for millions after regulators grounded the Max following two fatal crashes. It is the first lawsuit by an airline tied to the Max disasters to actually reach trial, putting Boeing’s sales tactics and certification practices under the microscope in the company’s own backyard.
During opening statements, LOT’s lead attorney told jurors that Boeing glossed over safety issues while aggressively marketing the Max and that the global grounding blew up the airline’s recovery plans. “This case is about Boeing’s lies and deception and the devastating financial harm it caused,” attorney Anthony Battista said in court, according to The Journal Record.
MCAS At The Center Of LOT’s Fraud Allegations
LOT’s complaint zeroes in on the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, software that Boeing added to counter a nose-up tendency on the Max. The airline says Boeing played down how extensive MCAS really was so regulators would not insist on costly simulator training for pilots. LOT maintains it would not have leased 15 Max jets in 2016 had it been aware of testing and design concerns surrounding the system, according to reporting by Reuters.
Two Deadly Crashes And A Worldwide Grounding
Investigators later concluded that MCAS played a major role in the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes, which killed a total of 346 people and triggered a worldwide grounding of the Max in March 2019. The aircraft were kept largely out of service for about 20 months while regulators reviewed software fixes, additional pilot training and other changes, according to a timeline compiled by The Associated Press.
Boeing Pushes Back In Its Home Court
Boeing’s attorneys told jurors the company did not commit fraud and argued that LOT continued to operate Max aircraft even while complaining about its financial losses. The company has also highlighted significant payouts to victims’ families and settlements with airlines that were hit by the grounding, local reporting from KIRO 7 notes.
What LOT Says It Lost, And What Boeing Wants Out
LOT filed its complaint in October 2021, alleging that Boeing’s misrepresentations forced the carrier to cancel routes, lease replacement aircraft and absorb other costly operational hits. The airline says those losses add up to hundreds of millions of dollars. Boeing, for its part, has moved to block what it characterizes as late damages evidence and to limit revised expert reports as the case proceeds in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, according to ch-aviation.
Legal Ripples Far Beyond One Airline
If jurors side with LOT, other airlines that lost revenue during the long Max grounding could feel encouraged to bring their own claims, and a verdict against Boeing could increase regulatory and congressional scrutiny of how the company handles certification and safety. Whatever the outcome, the decision is expected to echo far beyond this Seattle courtroom, in a region where Boeing’s long presence has turned the company and the Max story into both a local saga and a national flashpoint.
_arrives_London_Heathrow_11Apr2015_arp.jpg){kind=link}