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Boeing Crash Payouts Could Be Linked To Victims' Last Minutes - Reports

US aviation giant Boeing is gearing up for a lengthy legal fight to determine financial liability after Boeing 737 Max crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia killed 346 people in a matter of months.
Sputnik

In a grim detail reported by Bloomberg, crash payouts by Boeing and its insurers to the families of those killed in the plane disasters could be tied to the amount of time the victims knew they were going to die.

The reports surfaced as families of both the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max crash victims initiated lawsuits against the manufacturer. Boeing shareholders have also filed a lawsuit alleging the company misled investors.

737 Max in Branding Rehab as Boeing Brainstorms How to Win Back Trust
The Chicago-based aviation giant is gearing up for a lengthy legal battle to determine financial liability after Boeing 737 Max crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia killed 346 people in the space of a few months. 

According to a Bloomberg Intelligence estimate based on prior cases, settling the claims could cost Boeing around $1 billion.

However, legal experts agree the payouts could be higher if evidence shows Boeing had prior knowledge of the flaws in the planes before the deadly crashes – something currently under investigation. 

READ MORE:Boeing Hushed Info About Safety Alert Problems With 737 MAX for YEAR — Reports

Earlier, Boeing claimed that  after airlines had been flying its 737 Max plane for a year, it discovered a safety alert in the cockpit was not working as intended, but opted to notify the Federal Aviation Administration and other airlines that used these planes until after the deadly Lion Air crash.

Bloomberg quoted Brian Alexander, a New York aviation lawyer for victims of the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed on 10 March, as saying:

“The bottom line is Boeing’s exposure is much more substantial than in any other case that I’ve been a part of in my quarter-century of representing families in plane-crash cases”.

Meanwhile, Robert Rabin, a Stanford University law professor, told Bloomberg: "While the precise causes of the crashes are still being determined, preliminary evidence is raising the liability risk for Boeing," adding that "it would be in Boeing’s best interest to settle.”

Boeing Says Conducted Additional 737 MAX Test Flights With New Software
The 737 Max plane model suffered two deadly crashed in around six months – the first in October 2018 in Indonesia, which resulted in the death of all 189 people on board, and the second in Ethiopia on 10 March this year, killing all 157 aboard.

Currently, Boeing is finalising an update to a piece of software linked to both crashes, which aims to prevent erroneous data triggering the MCAS anti-stall system.

It is also working on a new pilot training package in a bid to convince global regulators and consumers that the model is safe.

The changes will need to be certified by aviation regulators before the jet is cleared to resume commercial flights around the world.

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