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Boeing must answer in a court in Fort Worth (Texas) next Thursday for the two
fatal accidents involving the MAX in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019,
in which 346 people died.
 
According to a Texas federal judge in Fort Worth, Boeing wrongly did not have
to answer to a judge for the consequences of the accidents after a settlement
was reached in January 2021. The aircraft manufacturer then paid 2.5 billion
dollars (2.3 billion euros) after an agreement with the Ministry of Justice.
In return, Boeing was offered immunity.
 
Relatives believe that this settlement should not have been made because,
according to them, Boeing was guilty of withholding important information
about the MAX. This concerns information about the so-called MCAS system,
which automatically corrects the aircraft when it threatens to stall. This
could occur because the position of the motors at the MAX can cause a
pitch-up. 
 
The continuous activation of MCAS played a major role in the crashes of Lion
Air's Boeing MAX in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines in March 2019. After
these accidents, the MAX was banned from flying until the end of 2020.
 
The family members have already lodged an objection to the settlement at the
end of 2021. The judge now wants Boeing to be present next week when the
victims' relatives present the charges. According to the judge, the victims
had the right under the so-called Crime Victims' Rights Act to have been
involved in the settlement in 2021 as a victim of a crime.

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