Why would the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allow Boeing to keep flying their 737 MAX after all 189 on board Lion Air flight 610 were killed in October 2018? Why would they not stop Boeing from flying their 737 MAX after another flight – Ethiopian flight 302 – crashed on March 10 of this year killing all 157 on board?
Initially, the FAA confirmed the safety of the 737 MAX even after both aircraft had crashed causing total loss of lives onboard. It was not until 3 days later that the FAA grounded all 737 MAX aircraft.
An attorney for Ethiopian is demanding that Boeing and the FAA turn over documents that led to this decision to the keep the 737 MAX in the air after such complete catastrophic air crashes. Robert Clifford of Clifford Law Offices is representing families of the Ethiopian crash victims. He said how those decisions came about are key.
It was the FAA itself that warned the 737 MAX had problems with its automated flight control system sensors causing both planes to nose-dive and not be able to recover.
Boeing is facing close to 100 lawsuits so far filed by various law firms representing crash victims’ families with likely more to follow. Although most of the lawsuits do not cite a specific dollar amount, the law firm of Ribbeck Law Chartered confirmed that its clients are seeking more than $1billion.
Boeing did not comment on the lawsuits but did confirm the company is fully cooperating with investigating authorities. The manufacturer is upgrading software and while apologetic, it has not admitted to any fault as to how the software was initially developed.
The FAA stands firm in its decision not to ground the 737 MAX sooner and also said it does not comment on litigation.
