Lawyers for LOT Polish Airlines argued in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday local time that Boeing concealed safety issues with its 737 MAX jets. The incident occurred in 2016, when Polish Airlines selected the popular single-aisle jet as the centerpiece of its plan to escape deep financial troubles.
In 2019, regulators grounded the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft globally after two crashes exposed serious safety issues with the flight control system of the aircraft, hampering LOT Polish Airlines' plans. In 2021, LOT Polish Airlines sued Boeing, seeking compensation for lost revenue caused by the grounding of the MAX.
“This case involves Boeing’s lies and deceit and the devastating financial harm that resulted,” Anthony Battista, a lawyer for LOT Polish Airlines, said in opening statements Monday.
While Boeing is promoting the 737 MAX aircraft leasing program to Polish Airlines, its engineers are also working hard to solve the problem of the nose of the passenger plane being prone to lifting under certain conditions. To do this, Boeing developed the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), a software feature that automatically pushes the nose of the aircraft down during these situations.
However, Boeing misled the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about the practical scope of the MCAS system and the difficulties it encountered in flight testing, so the regulator would not require pilots who have flown previous 737 models to undergo extensive simulator training. Extensive simulator training will significantly increase the overall cost of the MAX aircraft, which comes at a time when Boeing is fiercely competing with European rival Airbus' A320 family for orders for thousands of narrow-body passenger jets around the world.
Former Polish Airlines executive Maciej Wilke told a jury on Monday that switching to the A320 would require "extensive" and expensive simulator training.
"And the key commitment in all of this is around 737 MAX pilot training," he said.
LOT Polish Airlines was unaware of MCAS' safety issues at the time and committed to leasing 15 aircraft over the next few years.
MCAS played a key role in two crashes that killed 346 people - Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019.
In public statements after the first crash, Boeing executives assured the public that the MAX was safe. Boeing sales staff also assured LOT Polish Airlines that there were no safety issues with the aircraft.
Like other airlines, LOT Polish Airlines continued to operate the aircraft until after the crash in 2019, global regulators ordered the MAX to be grounded as the role of the MCAS system in the accident became clear. Regulators allowed the aircraft to return to service 20 months later after an in-depth review of design changes to the MCAS system and additional training for pilots.
Airlines around the world with 737 MAX fleets, including LOT Polish Airlines, have resumed operations of the upgraded aircraft.
Boeing's lawyers on Monday accused LOT Polish Airlines of "accusing Boeing of fraud in court while continuing to operate Boeing 737 MAX aircraft every day." “Is this what a victim of a multi-million dollar fraud would do?”
Boeing has previously paid billions of dollars in compensation to the families of victims of two crashes.
Boeing has also reached a huge out-of-court settlement with airlines that suffered losses due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX. The specific amount has not been disclosed.
LOT Polish Airlines is the first airline to take Boeing to court over lawsuits related to the Boeing 737 MAX crash.