US Congress blames Boeing for 737-MAX tragedy
The US Department of Justice announced this Thursday that it reached an agreement with Boeing for which aeronautics
will pay 2,500 million dollars
(just over 2,000 million euros) to close an investigation of its 737 MAX aircraft in which it was
accused of withholding information from the regulator about the design flaw
that caused two fatal accidents.
"The tragic accidents on Lion Air Flight 610 and
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
exposed fraudulent and deceptive conduct by employees of one of the world's leading commercial aircraft manufacturers," Acting Deputy Attorney General said in a statement.
David P. Burns
of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.
According to the investigation, in 2016 two flight managers discovered "a major change" in the 737 MAX's flight control system (MCAS) and, instead of sharing it with the FAA, Boeing
"withheld the information and misled" the entity
, which led to the manuals and training materials for its pilots not including data on it.
In October 2018 the
Lion Air
accident took place
, which fell into the Java Sea with 189 passengers, and in March 2019 the Ethiopian Airlines
accident
, which crashed near the town of
Bishoftu
with 157 passengers, in both cases with aircraft 737 MAX that, as the investigations revealed, fell precipitously due to a
technical failure in the MCAS
that could not be controlled by the pilots.
"Boeing employees chose the path of profit over honesty by withholding material information from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) about the operation of their 737 MAX aircraft and making an effort to cover up their deception," Burns said.
The monetary agreement includes a
fine of almost 244 million dollars for Justice and 500 million in compensation to the families
of those killed in the accidents, while 1.77 billion dollars are committed to compensate Boeing's client airlines for the losses that caused the stoppage of the 737 MAX as a result of the second accident.
"This resolution is a serious reminder to all of us of how critical our obligation of transparency to regulators is, and the consequences our company may face if any of us fail to meet those expectations," the president said in a note to his employees. and Boeing CEO
David Calhoun
.
The 737 MAX scandal, which was Boeing's flagship aircraft, plunged the firm into the worst crisis in its history, costing it
nearly $ 20 billion
due to its worldwide veto and damaging its reputation while it was subject to investigations and a lengthy revalidation process with international regulators.
The FAA gave Boeing the green light on November 18 for the 737 MAX
to fly with passengers again
and a week ago
American Airlines
operated the first flight in the US after its recertification, precisely in the middle of another crisis, that of the covid-19 pandemic, which has hit the tourism sector hard due to travel bans.
Boeing, which indicated that the amount of the fine will be noted in its next quarterly results, fell 0.66% in electronic operations after the
Wall Street close
in reaction to the news after closing the day with profits.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Boeing
economy
Business
Investment Rodrigo Buenaventura takes office as president of the CNMV: "It is a message of maturity of the institution"
Companies The presence of women on the Ibex boards is 2.5 points from the 30% recommended by the CNMV
Companies Nine out of 10 SMEs have seen their income fall due to COVID-19 and half fear for its viability in 2021
See links of interest
Coronavirus Spain
US Capitol Assault
Check Loteria Niño 2021
Yeclano Deportivo - Valencia CF
Pontevedra CF - Cádiz
SCR Peña Deportiva - Sabadell
Amorebieta - Sporting de Gijón
Castellón - Tenerife