Boeing fined $2.5 billion USD following charges linked to 737 Max crashes

Boeing is facing a US$2.5 billion fine following criminal charges pressed by the US Justice Department for defrauding regulators. The department says Boeing concealed information about the 737 Max jet’s automated flight control system, MCAS, that was a major factor in the passenger flight crashes in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.

In October 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta. Just 5 months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed 6 minutes after taking off from Ethiopia. Both airplanes had malfunctions with the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, and the planes went into a nosedive shortly after takeoff.

The 737 Max planes were grounded for 20 months following the March 2019 crash and recently started taking off again.

The DOJ says Boeing concealed information about the MCAS to the Federal Aviation Administration. Since the FAA didn’t know about the automated system, the administration did not mention it in the final report certifying the aircraft. The system was then not included in the aircraft manuals and pilot training materials.

The FAA learned about the MCAS for the first time after the Lion Air crash, saying Boeing had concealed the information about the system, according to the DOJ.

SOURCE: AFP

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