KUALA LUMPUR – Families of Boeing 737 MAX crash victims want US authorities to fine the plane maker US$24.8 billion (RM116.8 billion) and prosecute the company.
Next-of-kin made their demands known in a letter to the US Department of Justice submitted through a lawyer.
They also attended the US congressional hearing into Boeing yesterday, holding up photos of family members who died in 737 Max 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019.
Lawyer Paul Cassell, representing the families, said Boeing had committed “the deadliest corporate crime in US history,” making a fine of more than US$24 billion “legally justified and clearly appropriate,” AFP reported him saying.
The documents submitted by victims’ families detail calculations justifying the amount sought, and also requested Boeing’s Board of Directors “be ordered to meet with the families.”
The families also want the government to “launch criminal prosecutions of the responsible corporate officials at Boeing at the time of the two crashes.”
The crashes in 2018 and 2019 were in Indonesia and Ethiopia, respectively. Both incidents claimed a total of 346 lives.
They involved 737 MAX 8 aircraft belonging to Indonesian airline Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines which had problems with their flight control software.
The system, known as MCAS, was designed to help pilots control the aircraft in certain situations. However, in both cases, pilots were surprised by the software’s irregular intervention.
Boeing previously acknowledged that it had not accurately communicated the extent of pilot training required to operate the software to the US’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Boeing is again under scrutiny since a January 5 incident in which a 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blew out mid-flight.
The ongoing US Senate hearing has grilled Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, who apologised to victims’ families. – June 20, 2024