Overview
- A jury trial opened this week in U.S. District Court in Seattle over LOT’s claim that Boeing hid safety problems on the 737 MAX.
- LOT says it agreed in 2016 to lease 15 MAX jets to aid a financial turnaround and did not know about hazards in MCAS, software that can push the nose down to counter a pitch-up tendency.
- Boeing denies fraud and told jurors the airline still flies the MAX after regulators approved a redesign and added pilot training.
- Key evidence will draw on a 2023 court order that let LOT seek MCAS design and test records, files from former 737 technical pilot Mark Forkner, and Boeing board minutes.
- LOT is the first airline to take a MAX-related case to a jury, even as Boeing has paid billions to crash victims’ families and reached undisclosed settlements with other carriers over grounding losses.