Boeing faces lawsuits from crashed victims’ families as shares dip

Boeing may face lawsuits from victims’ families in the United States, where legal compensation payments for people killed in 737 MAX 8 plane crashes could run around $2 million to $3 million per person, depending on the law applied, compared to about $200,000 in Ethiopia, National Daily has learnt.

China and Indonesia grounded their fleets of 737 MAX 8 aircraft earlier on Monday, citing safety concerns, contributing to a drop in Boeing Co shares that wiped billions of dollars off the market value of the world’s biggest plane maker.

The company’s share price briefly had its biggest one-day drop since the attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, falling as much as 13.5 percent early on Monday on fears that two crashes in such a short time could reveal flaws in the new plane.

Some investors saw that dip as an opportunity to buy Boeing shares, which have tripled in value over the past three years, sparking a recovery. The shares closed down 5.3 percent at $400.01. They hit a record high of $446 last week.

Recall that an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 plunged into farmland minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa for Nairobi on Sunday, killing all 157 passengers onboard.

The airplane, received in November 2018, had flown more than 1,200 hours, and it had returned from Johannesburg earlier on Sunday, Chief Executive Tewolde GebreMariam said.

The victims came from more than 30 countries, and the United Nations said they included 21 members of its staff. The UN had earlier said 22 of its staff were on board.

The dead included aid workers, doctors, professors of literature and botany, a law student, a newly wed woman, a father soon expecting a child, and a couple who just had a baby.

The 737 line, which has flown for more than 50 years, is the world’s best-selling modern passenger aircraft and viewed as one of the industry’s most reliable.

The new MAX 8 variant, with bigger engines designed to use less fuel, entered service in 2017. By the end of January this year, Boeing had delivered 350 of the new jets to customers, with another 4,661 on order, and they could become the workhorses for airlines around the globe for decades.

Ethiopian Airlines, which has four other 737 MAX 8 jets, said it was grounding them as a precaution. China also ordered its airlines to suspend their 737 MAX 8 jets.

Indonesia, where a Lion Air 737 MAX 8 went down in October, said it would temporarily ground the model for inspection.