Class Action Suit Against Boeing

[cavuman1]

Four-hundred-plus commercial pilots have joined a class action suit against Boeing regarding the MCAS situation on the 727 Max. - Lawsuit - Pilots vs. Boeing (https://www.businessinsider.com/737-max-pilots-sue-boeing-claim-unprecedented-cover-up-issues-2019-6)

Ed

[gearlever]

I don't believe (727);)

[meleagertoo]

What a bunch of greedy, self-seeking bottom feeding opportunists. They've suffered no harm whatsoever, that's just pure avarice and opportunism.

They are truly beneath contempt.

[Ian W]

What a bunch of greedy, self-seeking bottom feeding opportunists. They've suffered no harm whatsoever, that's just pure avarice and opportunism.

They are truly beneath contempt.

All this will bring to light is the argument that Boeing expected average pilots to be able to deal with a trim runaway - as the first Lion Air flight did successfully, and the final Lion Air flight Captain did until the FO took over. These were normal line pilots but were capable of flying the aircraft with the AOA failure driven MCAS. It was these normally qualified pilots that were expected to be the standard 737 Max flight crews. The entire beancounter driven airline training regimes are then brought into the picture.

[Just the fax maam]

Not all of the Pilots involved are from the US. They have suffered demonstrable harm - loss of income in many cases. Please try to stick to the fax if at all possible :-)

Otherwise, some lovely knee-jerk anti-Americanism on display above!

[Speed of Sound]

Not sure how close US law is to UK law but as far as I can see, the pilots have no direct contract with Boeing.

What would have a greater chance of success would be the pilots suing their employer for loss of earnings on the grounds that their employers were negligent in purchasing the problem aircraft, then the airlines would then recover that loss from Boeing with whom most will have a contract.

This, of course couldn’t be done as a class action as presumably the terms and conditions of each pilot would differ. A better class action would be all AA pilots taking a class action against AA and all South-West pilots taking a class action against South-West etc.

[a_q]

Those 400 pilots should count themselves lucky they are alive and well enough to contemplate this course of action.

At least four of their colleagues are not.

[Out Of Trim]

What a bunch of greedy, self-seeking bottom feeding opportunists. They've suffered no harm whatsoever, that's just pure avarice and opportunism.

They are truly beneath contempt.

Yeah, but what about the Max Pilots? :E

[arearadar70]

They are only trying to protect their lives from a discredited Boeing Company

[UltraFan]

I think the numerous frivolous lawsuits filed in certain countries are blurring the vision here, at least to some extent. I wouldn't blame the pilots for this. Some of them did lose paid block time and some, as, for example, Icelandair pilots, were fired because the airline didn't need their type rating. Besides, a lot of them weren't flying all this time and won't be flying for some time, which means they won't be current on their type rating. Those who are nearing the re-training "watershed" age, which in some countries is as low as 40 years old, won't be able to find another job any time soon. And some, I'm sure, have joined the action simply out of solidarity.

I see this as more or less punitive lawsuit for Boeing. They did cut many corners and they did act out of greed with 737MAX. So I'd consider this an "ultimate justice". Whether the court agrees with them is yet to be seen. I believe Boeing has already allocated a significant sum of money for out-of-court settlements and will be persuing that line of action. Let's just wait and see.

[Smythe]

This is interesting, while "pilot X" is Canadian...

The pilots fly for an airline that also employs a 737 Max pilot known only as Pilot X, who wishes to remain unidentified for fear of reprisal.

Australia-based International Aerospace Law & Policy Group and Chicago-based law firm PMJ PLLC on Saturday filed a class action lawsuit against the Boeing Company on behalf of more than 400 pilots from a major international airline claiming compensatory damages from the grounding of the 737 Max fleet.

Pilot X has filed a separate administrative claim to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. According to PMJ managing partner Patrick Jones, Pilot X plans to file a lawsuit against the U.S. government for negligence on the part of the FAA if his counsel deems the FAA’s response inadequate. “The allegations reflect the widely held view that Boeing put its corporate profits ahead of aviation safety as well as the safety of those in the aviation world who put their trust in Boeing most: pilots and their passengers,” said Jones. “Pilots trusted Boeing to sell a safe aircraft that they could manage in any emergency scenario, but that trust was clearly abused.”

This and the number of pilots corresponds to Air Canada's claim of idling 420 or so MAX pilots..

[derjodel]

Seems like a long shot by some lawyers. I doubt (m)any pilots invested into flying max specifically and based on any contract or even promise from Boeing.

I expect another class action, which should be a solid case and a major headache for boeing though...

[Raffles S.A.]

According to the article below, an ex employee sent an email to ET management 3 months before the crash, warning the bosses of the need for more training. ET has refuted this and is saying that he is a disgruntled ex employee.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7180501/Boeing-sued-pilot-severe-emotional-mental-stress-forced-fly-737-Max.html

[paull]

A friend, ex CEO of a pharmaceutical company, said "For new technologies/applications we get the pick of the brains, often the regulator asks us how they should regulate. We could easily pull the wool over their eyes. It is not the regulator that keeps us honest, but the fear of the legal costs if we get caught doing the wrong thing" If that is true here, then its the lawyers keeping us alive.