A federal appeals court has rejected a class-action lawsuit against Boeing and Southwest Airlines that accused the companies of putting 737 Max passengers in harm’s way and covering up known dangers to the flying public.
The case was one of the most significant consumer actions over the 737 Max crisis after the crashes of two jets in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people and set off a worldwide investigation into the airworthiness of the Boeing plane.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2019 after the 737 Max was grounded as details began to emerge that Boeing had long known about issues with the software system known as MCAS that was blamed for steering the planes into the ground. The lawsuit claimed that Dallas-based Southwest, Boeing’s largest 737 Max customer, was aware of the problems and hid the dangers from the public.
