Documents released on Friday show that Boeing Co has agreed to pay $237.5 million to shareholders in order to settle a lawsuit regarding the company’s safety oversight of the 737 MAX aircraft. After the board of directors failed to identify a safety oversight before releasing this aircraft into the market, two fatal crashes took place, taking the lives of 346 people in total.
Because of the crashes that took place in 2018 and 2019, the 737 MAX aircraft was grounded for 20 months. It was only once significant technological improvements and further training was carried out that the aircraft was returned to service.
The settlement agreement is believed to require that an additional board member with aviation/aerospace, engineering, or product safety oversight expertise be appointed within the next year.
Following the confirmation of the settlement, Boeing Co released a statement reaffirming its confidence in its ability to prevent further hazards.
“Boeing has taken significant actions to reinforce and strengthen our commitment to aviation safety,” the company stated. It furthermore claimed that the settlement “builds on those actions with additional oversight and governance reforms that will further advance safety and quality in the work that we do.”
