The families of victims in two Boeing 737 Max plane crashes have asked for prosecutions and a fine of $24.8bn for “the deadliest corporate crime in US history”.
The families’ lawyer Paul Cassell said the amount was “justified and clearly appropriate” given “enormous human costs of Boeing’s crimes”.
In a 32-page letter seen by the BBC, Mr Cassell said that the US government should prosecute those leading the company when 346 people were killed in two crashes in 2018 and 2019.
The letter cited the apology by Boeing’s chief executive Dave Calhoun on Tuesday while he gave evidence to Congress.
“I apologise for the grief that we have caused,” he said, as he was heckled by family members of victims of the crashes.
Mr Calhoun acknowledged the mistakes the company made and said it had “learned” from the past. He also acknowledged that the company had retaliated against whistleblowers but said he has “listened” to those employees.
In the letter, Mr Cassell said his clients recommend that the Justice Department order a portion of the fine to employ independent monitoring of the company’s safety and compliance measures.
Boeing has been under fire for years, most recently when a door panel flew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leaving a gaping hole mid-flight.
It also faced intense questions after two 737 Max aircraft were lost in separate, but almost identical accidents, killing 346 people.
In October 2018, all 189 people on a Lion Air flight died after the aircraft crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after take-off from Jakarta, Indonesia.
In March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed six minutes after take-off from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. All 157 on-board were killed and both these crashes were linked to faulty flight control systems.
Families of those killed in the crashes attended Tuesday’s hearing and held up photographs of loved ones.
“I flew from England to Washington DC to hear in person what the Boeing CEO has to say to the Senate and to the world about any safety improvements made at that corporation,” said Zipporah Kuria, whose father was killed in the 2019 crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet.
“I also continue to press the US government to hold Boeing and its corporate executives criminally responsible for the deaths of 346 people. We will not rest until we see justice.”
