Nov 16, 2019

Boeing settles four lawsuits in the wake of 737 MAX crashes

Rashaan Ayesh

Photos of the Boeing Max 737 crash victims — Nadia Milleron, whose daughter Samya Stumo, was killed in the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, holds a picture of Boeing 737 Max jet crash victims during the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in October. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

Boeing settled four lawsuits with a Seattle law firm on Friday that's representing families of passengers who died when the Lion Air flight crashed in Ethiopia in Oct. 2018, AP reports.

Why it matters: Boeing has taken heat over how it responded in the aftermath of the two crashes that collectively killed 346 passengers. In early November, lawmakers grilled CEO Dennis Muilenburg over how much he was paid following the crashes.

Boeing's legal team is trying to move some of the lawsuits to Indonesia, claiming it would be more "convenient," while legal experts explain it actually means "judgments in Indonesian courts would likely be smaller," according to AP.
A Boeing spokesperson told AP the company has settled "dozens" of claims of the 150 filed against them.
The company previously committed $100 million to the victims' families and impacted communities.

What's next: Boeing is working to improve the software that caused the crashes, and hopes to receive approval from the Federal Aviation Administration by January, AP notes.

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Boeing settles four lawsuits in the wake of 737 MAX crashes

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