The Boeing 737 Max tragedies sparked an enormous amount of litigation. From criminal prosecutions and individual civil claims to class action lawsuits and shareholder proceedings, the legal fallout resulting from the 737 Max disasters has been colossal. 

After talking with a former aviation lawyer, I was really interested to find out what happened with all the following legal proceedings and this is what I found. Below, I’ll outline what you need to know about the various Boeing 737 Max lawsuits that have emerged. Some have settled – and some are ongoing. 

What Happened with the Boeing 737 Max?

The Boeing 737 Max is the fourth generation of Boeing 737 aircraft, manufactured by U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing. It was designed to compete with the Airbus A320neo series and was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in March 2017.

However, the 737 Max quickly became associated with tragedy. In October 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 (a 737 Max 8) crashed into the Java Sea only 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 people onboard.  Less than 6 months later in March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (another 737 Max 8) crashed six minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing all 157 people onboard.

Over 50 aviation authorities across the world grounded the aircraft and, by 18 March 2019, all 387 planes were taken out of the air amid concerns the aircraft had a fatal flaw in its design.

What Caused the Boeing 737 Max Crashes?

Investigations revealed that the fundamental problem with the 737 Max series was a failure in the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which was a major contributor to both crashes.

The MCAS was originally designed as a stabilizing system for the aircraft. It would detect when the plane entered into a steep climb and then automatically ’tilt’ the aircraft nose back down to its regular angle of attack (AoA) to prevent the airplane from stalling.

The system was installed because the 737 Max relied on a new engine known as the LEAP-1Bs, which were much heavier than previously used engines. They were placed higher up on the aircraft wings so that they didn’t sit too close to the ground, resulting in the aircraft to ‘Pitch Nose Up’ when entering into a steep climb. MCAS was supposed to be the stabilizing solution to that issue.

However, the MCAS didn’t work the way it was supposed to – and under certain conditions uncontrollably dropped the nose of the aircraft and sent it into a dive.

In a surprising twist of events, it was later revealed that, before the Lion Air crash, information about MCAS was removed from the aircraft’s flight manual – meaning pilots didn’t know about it until the first fatal crash.

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What Lawsuits Followed the Boeing 737 Max Accidents?

Litigation resulting from the 737 Max tragedy was both civil and criminal, with proceedings commenced by prosecutors, families of the victims, shareholders, and other companies who had a stake in the aircraft. 

Victims’ Families’ Civil Proceedings

There were at least 100 lawsuits filed against Boeing by the families of those who lost their lives in the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines disasters. These claims, broadly, alleged that the aircraft was unsafe and that Boeing was liable for damages.

The majority of these claims have now reached a settlement – most, if not all, have confidential settlements. The first was reached in September 2019, when Boeing reportedly agreed to pay $1.2 million each to 11 families of victims of the Lion Air disaster. By July 2020, Boeing settled most of its Lion Air wrongful death lawsuits.

For some, despite the settlement, the heartache did not stop. One lawyer who represented a number of these families allegedly embezzled a large sum of the settlement for himself, leaving each of the families still owed around $500,000. Another law firm, completely unconnected to the proceedings, stepped in and paid these families their owed settlement, deciding to go after the rogue lawyer for themselves. 

The final substantial ‘batch’ of civil lawsuits against Boeing (which were brought by families of the Ethiopian Airlines victims) reached an agreement in November 2021.  The plane manufacturer admitted liability for compensatory damages but avoided liability for punitive damages (that is, damages awarded as punishment, rather than as compensation).

The result was that families could sue Boeing for compensatory damages only – a significant outcome for Boeing that could considerably reduce a payout.

At the time of writing, a number of lawsuits are ongoing.

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Pilot Class Action

Boeing was also sued by over 400 pilots in a class action, who alleged that the 737 Max disasters were an “unprecedented cover-up”. This soon grew to 3,000 pilots from 12 international airlines. The pilots are reportedly seeking “as much as $368 million” in lost income and damages as a result of the 737 Max grounding.

Criminal Charges

After the two crashes, Boeing admitted to deceiving the FAA about the MCAS. This deception resulted in the FAA not publishing information about MCAS, meaning manuals and pilot materials for U.S.-based airlines simply did not have sufficient information about the system that would then contribute to two fatal crashes.

Boeing was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Documents had revealed that the 737 Max’s Chief Technical Pilot, Mark Forkner, told another pilot that MCAS was running “rampant” in a simulator. However, Mr Forkner had also told FAA officials that MCAS was safe. Another document even showed a Boeing employee saying that the 737 Max “is designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys”.

Mr Forkner found himself in criminal trouble – charged with four counts of wire fraud for misleading the federal regulator. However, in March 2022, Mr Forkner was found not guilty. He was the only Boeing employee charged with a criminal offense over the 737 Max saga.

Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice

In January 2021, Boeing entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ). As part of the agreement, the manufacturer agreed to pay a total of $2.5 billion, consisting of:

• a criminal penalty of $243.6 million;
• compensation payouts to airline customers in the amount of $1.77 billion; and
• a $500 million fund to compensate relatives, heirs, and beneficiaries of the passengers who lost their lives on the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines flights.

The settlement allows Boeing to avoid criminal prosecution – and was described as a “form of corporate plea bargain”. The full DPA is available for viewing online here.

As part of the $500 million fund, each eligible family is to receive approximately $1.45 million, with money being paid on a rolling basis when claims are submitted and resolved.

Family members of the victims filed a motion in a U.S. court in December 2021 arguing that the U.S. Government “violated their rights through a secret process”, asking that the judge declare that the DPA violated their rights.

In early 2022, the U.S. Government opposed the motion but apologized for not meeting with the victims’ beneficiaries. At the time of writing, this aspect of the Boeing 737 Max litigation is ongoing.

Shareholder Lawsuit Against Boeing

Boeing shareholders commenced proceedings against the global aircraft manufacturer after the two fatal incidents. 

Two shareholders, public pension funds Thomas P. DiNapoli (New York State Comptroller, as trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund) and the Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado filed a derivative lawsuit against Boeing’s current and former directors.

They alleged that Boeing’s directors breached their fiduciary duties by “dismantling Boeing’s lauded safety-engineering corporate culture in favor of what became a financial-engineering corporate culture.” The two organizations, lead plaintiffs in their lawsuit, alleged Boeing’s directors failed to monitor safety so poorly, that it wasn’t even a topic in board meetings.

In November 2021, Boeing’s board of directors agreed to settle the claim for $237.5 million.

In a separate 2019 derivative shareholder class action filed in Illinois, the Seafarers Pension Plan alleged that Boeing board members and officers made false and misleading statements to the public about the 737 Max in proxy materials.

This lawsuit was originally dismissed, with a court finding that Boeing’s bylaws meant the company had a right to insist the claim be filed in Delaware. However, it was later revived in January 2022 when a U.S. appeals court decided it could go ahead.

Other Notable Lawsuits

This article does not attempt to outline every single claim brought against Boeing (nor is it able to). For example, there have also been commercial claims brought by other companies who had signed contracts to purchase the 737 Max. 

However, it should be noted that claims weren’t just brought against Boeing and its directors. Proceedings were brought against other parties too, including the FAA, Spirit AeroSystems (who manufacture aerostructures for Boeing), and even Southwest Airlines. 

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When a low-flying plane passes through clouds, you may notice some cool-looking spirals coming off the wingtips. These are called wingtip vortices. But what are they and how are they formed? Are these vortices present all the time?

Wingtip vortices are rotating funnels of air that leave the tip of an airplane wing as it flies. Higher air pressure formed under the wing tries to move to the lower pressure above the wing and by flowing around the wing tip this creates the vortices. Large, heavy airplanes create very strong vortices.

Even as a pilot myself, seeing an airplane coming through a cloud or dust and churning up these funnels always gets my attention. To most, they are just a cool visual indication of how air is working around an airplane, but from a pilot’s point of view, these vortices can be extremely hazardous and need respect!

What are Airplane Wingtip Vortices and How are They Created?

Planes achieve lift by creating a pressure difference between the topside and underside of their wings. The shape of the wing creates a higher pressure under the wing than air on top of the wing. This causes an upward force – Lift.

To create this lift the airplane has to be moving through the air.

Air is a pretty simple thing and all it wants to do is stay in balance, also known as equilibrium. When it’s separated from other air pockets around it and the pressure between them is different, they want to rejoin and balance out.

Air always tries to move from a point of high pressure to a point of low pressure and because an airplane wing is artificially creating this difference in air pressure between two pockets, the air is going to move.

Since air is moving at a fast rate across the wings, it becomes near impossible for the air to spill to the topside through the wing. The air, therefore, can only move from the bottom to the top part of the wing by going around the wing tip.

This creates a circular motion of air at the wing tips – The Vortice.

The air coming off the back of the wings instantly balances out but during that split second the air is passing from the front to the back of the wing, the only route available to equalize is around the wing tip.

Because the airplane is moving forward through the air each vortex is left behind but is then joined by the next vortex just created. This creates a funnel similar to a tornado, only laying horizontally.

This tornado-like motion of air is invisible and always present whenever a plane is in forward motion. The faster the airplane wing is moving forward, the more, and stronger the vortices are created. Vortices can only be seen when a plane passes through clouds, high humidity, or some sort of visible particulate suspended in the air.

These suspended particulates move with the airflow and allow you to track how the air is moving with your eyes.

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Are Wingtip Vortices Good for Planes? 

Vortices have a negative impact on both the plane producing it and any aircraft behind it. It is because of these vortices that airports are limited to how often an airplane can land or take off.

Some of the major disadvantages of wingtip vortices include:

• Fuel Inefficiency 
• Wake Turbulence

Fuel Inefficiency 

As the air spill over the tips of the wing and creates vortices, these in turn create drag. Drag works against the thrust of the engines and tries to slow the aircraft. Although the drag is small and not enough to be noticeable it soon accumulates over a long flight.

Any form of drag reduces the plane’s fuel efficiency as the plane has to spend more fuel thrusting the plane forward to overcome the effects of drag. The less drag an aircraft has, the less thrust is required to propel it through the air.

The less thrust required, the less fuel is consumed.

Because wingtip vortices create drag they increase fuel consumption. The total fuel consumed just to overcome the drag multiplied by the number of hours an airplane flies in its lifetime can equate to millions of dollars in additional fuel costs.

Wake Turbulence

Wake turbulence is the disturbance in the atmosphere caused when wingtip vortices are produced, especially by large and heavy airplanes. They are usually found near the ground at airports as wingtip vortices are more pronounced when planes are flying slow but creating massive amounts of lift, as in the case of takeoffs and landings. 

Vortices get larger as they get farther away from the plane. They are invisible and can stay near the same position for several minutes if there is no wind to help break them apart and allow them to dissipate. All vortices do eventually dissipate but take longer without wind to help.

All aircraft, no matter their size produce their most lift when the air that the wings and rotorblades are working on is smooth and undisturbed. Any aircraft encountering unsettled air pockets experiences turbulence. The stronger the disturbance, the greater the turbulence is felt in the aircraft. This is where vortices pose a threat as they linger just above a runway.

If a smaller airplane comes into contact with large vortices from a bigger plane, it may experience violent turbulence. Because the wingtip vortices form a rotating tunnel of air some light aircraft have been caught and have even rolled over uncontrollably and crashed as such cases happen at low altitudes where recovery is almost impossible. 

Even any aircraft experiencing violent turbulence just before touchdown or just after liftoff could be put into a very dangerous situation within close proximity to the ground.

Aircraft that are larger than the aircraft in front of them are less prone to wake turbulence but it does affect them, especially upon landing.

For this reason, planes are required to have adequate separation distances when taking off and landing subsequently. Air traffic controllers will space aircraft apart depending on their size to one another to allow the vortices to dissipate before the next aircraft arrives in that particular parcel of air.

For landing, air traffic controllers follow these guidelines:

Super = > 500,000lbs
Heavy = 300,000 – 500,000lbs
Large = 40,000 – 300,000lbs
Light = < 40,000lbs

Other precautionary methods to avoid flying into a preceding airplane’s wake turbulence include taking a flight path well above that of the previous plane, which means lifting off at a point on the runway prior to where the last plane took off. This allows the second aircraft to be flying above the slowly sinking vortices of the first aircraft.

A second method is landing beyond the touchdown point of the previous plane. As soon as an airplane lands its lift is instantly decreased, thus the severity of the wing tip vortices created is also decreased. If the second aircraft landing touches down at a point further along the runway from the first airplane’s touchdown point the vortices the pilots will experience will be negligible.

If a pilot doesn’t feel comfortable with the latter as this reduces the distance available for decelerating, they may initiate a go-around. It is for these reasons why air traffic controllers try to separate aircraft so that costly go-arounds are avoided.

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How are Wingtip Vortices Mitigated? 

Since WWII aircraft manufacturers have come up with various methods of reducing wingtip vortices. Although the vortices cannot be completely eliminated, they can be severely reduced using the following methods:

• Winglets/Sharklets
• Raked Wingtips 
• High Aspect Ratio Wings
• Elliptical Wing Designs

Winglets/Sharklets

These are devices that are fitted to each wingtip and are angled upwards, and sometimes downwards. They can be molded into the wing itself or be bolt-on additions for older aircraft. Each manufacturer has its own designs, but they essentially do the same job.
This has been by far the most common way of mitigating vortices since they were discovered in the ’80s.

Known as Winglets on Boeing airplanes and Sharklets on Airbus airplanes, they both do the same job and come in various forms and designs.

Winglets act as pressure blockers. Their angle reduces the amount of air getting to the other side of the wing. On wings without winglets, high-pressure air circles around and goes to the top of the wing where it presses down on the wing causing drag.

With winglets, the air is forced up the side of the winglets, and when it circles around to the inside surface, it presses down on the side of the winglets instead of the wing. This reduces the effect that vortices have on the generation of lift as they don’t hit the wing directly.

This dramatically increases fuel efficiency.  

Raked Wingtips

Airplanes like the Boeing 777x and the 787 Dreamliner had their designers opt to eliminate winglets as they added more weight and are prone to flutter. Instead, they increased wing spans by adding extensions at the wing tips.

These extensions were then angled backward as an integral part of the wing so that they have a larger sweep backward than the rest of the wing, and a pointier tip. Doing this isolates the vortices to a significantly smaller area of the wing and increases the distance between the vortex and the plane’s body.

These were proven to cause a significant reduction in drag on long-haul flights which these aircraft were aimed at.

The Boeing 777x also has foldable raked wingtips to be able to fit in airport gates. Its full wing span would have put it in the same group as bigger planes like the Airbus A380, which would make its use limited to airports that can support such big planes and incur higher airport fees for its operators. 

Once the aircraft has been pushed clear of the gate the wingtips are lowered and locked into place for the duration of the flight. Once in place, they form the same wing profile as the B787 seen above.

Larger Aspect Ratio Wings

Aspect ratio means the ratio between the length of the wing and the width across it. Larger aspect ratios, therefore, mean longer and thinner wings. These have been proven to dramatically reduce vortices. Such wing designs have been in use for a long time by gliders as they produce minimal drag.

With advances in technology, airplanes like the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 are being manufactured with longer and thinner wings as compared to their predecessors. The materials and processes now used allow for the wings to be made in very different ways compared to the conventional airplane wing, allowing for these dimensions to now be achievable.

This comes from the theory that planes with infinitely long wings and no wingtips would not experience wingtip vortices. Longer wings, therefore, reduce the span-wise movement of air which causes vortices. 

Elliptical Wing Designs

Elliptical wing designs produce a varying amount of lift along the wing, with the most lift being produced in the middle where there is more surface area. The least amount of lift is generated at the tips as they have smaller surface areas, hence a smaller pressure difference. This causes smaller vortices and less drag.

This design was used in the British WWII Supermarine Spitfire but is rarely used anymore as the shape is harder to manufacture and reinforce without making it too heavy. Controllability on a large-scale wing also makes the wing shape a decision-breaker for engineers.

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Have you ever wondered why flying directly over the Pacific Ocean seems few and far between? You may have already gone on enough vacations to last half a lifetime, but you just can’t seem to recall traveling right across the Pacific waters, unless flying to Hawaii that is.

Most airplanes do not fly directly over the pacific but instead, fly a curved route hugging the shorelines of Asia and North America. Flights do cross parts of the Pacific Ocean when en route to places like Hawaii and the Cook Islands. Staying within safe flight range of land is always preferred.

We all know airplanes fly all over the world and pretty much no part of the planet is inaccessible so in today’s article, we’ll answer the question as to whether aircraft do fly over the Pacific Ocean and, if they do, how exactly they do it.

Do Commercial Planes Fly Over the Pacific Ocean?

Most commercial planes, when flying from Asia to the United States or vice versa, do not fly across the Pacific Ocean, but instead, fly within a few thousand miles of the continent’s coastlines. Flying a curved route is the shortest route around the globe providing for shorter, faster flights.

When looking at a 2-dimensional map of our world it looks like the most direct route between two points is a direct line drawn between them. On an actual flight, this direct line is a much farther route because the earth is a sphere that we can fly through, we must fly around its surface.

To find out exactly how this phenomenon works please have a read of this article I wrote for you:

Why Do Airplanes Fly in a Curve?

Commercial air traffic is all driven by saving money and the quicker a flight takes, the less fuel is burned and the more flights can be fit into a given time frame.

All aircraft flying over vast expanses of this planet have to abide by ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards), a set of rules designed to regulate the distance that a plane can fly from a suitable runway.

ETOPS takes into consideration a plane’s size and ability, and the smaller a plane is, the more stringent the rules will be – especially when it comes to flying over the Pacific Ocean.

Basically, ETOPS allows an airplane to fly no more than 180 minutes flying time away from a suitable airport at which it can land. This provides a safe margin for pilots of twin-engined aircraft to reach and land a runway on just a single engine.

ETOPS has now been extended to 330 minutes for qualifying four-engine aircraft like the Boeing 747-8 and Airbus A380. They still need to be able to maintain a safe flight and landing if they lose 1 or 2 engines during their flight.

If flying out in the southern Pacific with airports not able to handle an aircraft of that size the safety of the crew and passengers onboard could be severely compromised.

There are times however when airplanes do fly directly over the Pacific Ocean, well at least parts of it. When en route to islands from the continental mainland or hopping between islands you can regularly find aircraft of all sizes.

Islands large enough almost all contain at least a runway of some form to allow for tourism, trade, resupply, and emergency operations to service the island.

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Why Do Planes Not Fly Over the Pacific Ocean?

Many different factors come into play when figuring out the reason why planes do not fly over the Pacific waters. They include route distances, cost considerations, mechanical and safety issues, and weather patterns. ETOPS and aircraft performance also dictate the route a pilot can be assigned or take.

Distance

Considering how turbulent a flight over the Pacific Ocean can be, it would make sense for any plane to just steer clear of it. But planes do still brave crossing over the Pacific waters, and these are the ones that have no other route to take.

The truth is that when flying directly above the Pacific Ocean, following a curved route allows a plane to fly a shorter distance than if it took a straight path. The earth is a sphere, after all. Not a flat surface. This is why it’s easy to get confused about distances when looking at a flat map. In real life, curved routes win in terms of letting commercial planes fly faster and more efficiently.

If you can get hold of a string and a globe, you can perform an experiment on curved routes versus straight routes. Choose two locations on the globe, create a straight route between them with your string, and measure the distance. Then perform this process again, but this time make a curved route with the string.

After this experiment, you will see how a curved route does cover a shorter distance compared to a straight route. Airplanes that cannot meet the ETOPS performance standards or carry the required emergency equipment on board for ditching must pick an alternative route.

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Cost

A plane’s fuel consumption determines how much it will cost to travel to a particular destination. It is no wonder then, that airlines will go to great lengths in taking the shortest route possible.

A shorter route equates to less fuel consumption, which also means lower costs.

Safety

Being able to land in an emergency is always at the back of airlines’ minds, which is why they prefer air routes that let planes fly closer to land.

This is especially true for flights that can take up to 12 hours, which is how long a plane will have to fly over the Pacific waters when heading to Asia from North America.

Mechanical issues are another concern for airlines in establishing their routes. Engine failures during flight have to be taken into consideration, so it would be wise for a plane to be in the vicinity of land surfaces with landing strips or airports suitable to accommodate the aircraft.

When commercial planes fly, they usually go over Alaska and Canada as they take a curved path in the northern direction. Because going this route keeps them from spending a long time above the Pacific waters, they have more time left for an emergency landing when necessary.

Weather

Because it is more likely for storms to occur over bodies of water than on land surfaces, airlines plan most of their flights to spend the least amount of time over the Pacific Ocean.

Pacific waters are known for turbulent weather and thunderstorms, making it unsafe for a plane to fly over in the first place.

Planes would also much rather avoid flying through storms than experience turbulence and as a result, cause discomfort to their passengers. Lightning strikes are another issue that planes will want to avoid dealing with.

Jet streams, which are west-to-east air currents circling the earth’s surface, is yet another issue planes will have to deal with when flying across the Pacific Ocean.

If a plane happens to fly against a jet stream, it is more than likely to experience turbulence as well as aircraft damage.

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