Boeing on Friday agreed to pay $200 million (€203.4 million) for publicly releasing several messages claiming that the 737 MAX aircraft model posed no risks after two fatal crashes involving those planes.
An issue with the flight software, MCAS, caused a Lion Air 737 MAX aircraft to nose dive in October 2018 and a similar Ethiopian Airlines aircraft in March 2019 without the pilots being able to avoid it.
The two accidents killed 346 people and paralyzed the entire world fleet of 737 MAXs for 20 months.
The former general manager of the American aviation company Dennis Muilenburg also agreed to pay a million dollars in fines.
“After the initial accident, Boeing and Muilenburg knew MCAS was a safety issue, but publicly assured that the 737 MAX was ‘as safe as any aircraft that has ever flown in the sky'”stressed the US Financial Markets Police (SEC), the accusing entity in the process.
“Later,” the SEC added in a statement, “Boeing and Muilenburg assured the public that there were no problems or gaps in the MCAS certification process, despite knowing to the contrary.”
Boeing had admitted in January 2021 that two employees had misled a US aviation authority team responsible for preparing MCAS training for pilots.
The airline giant then agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion to settle a number of lawsuits, including a $243.6 million criminal fine, $1.77 billion in damages to airlines that ordered the 737 MAX and $500 million in damages to a fund intended to compensate the following victims. of relatives.
Source: DN
