High Crimes and Misdemeanors: Federal Criminal Aviation Cases From 2021
Meritas Capability Webinar - Restructuring Insolvent Airlines in the Americas: A Look at LATAM and Developments with AeroMexico and Avianca
WEBINAR: The ABCs of Pilot Deviations
In its proposed Plea Agreement, the Department of Justice (DOJ) lays out the abject failures of Boeing which led the DOJ to conclude the underlying Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) from 2021 has been breached. The DOJ...more
When it comes to corporate accountability and the often murky waters of compliance, few cases are as illustrative and significant as the ongoing litigation involving Boeing. Since the 737 MAX safety scandal erupted in 2021,...more
Boeing’s Plea Agreement includes two Separate Factual Statements — the January 7, 2021 DPA, which is discussed in a prior blog post, and a factual outline of Boeing’s breach of the original DPA, resulting in the current Plea...more
In probably a move that will surprise no one, the families of the victims of the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes have objected to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) announced approach to a monitorship for Boeing. Having been so...more
The Department of Justice criminal prosecution of Mark Forkner, chief technical pilot at Boeing responsible for the 737 Max, ended in quick acquittal. DOJ prosecutors suffered an embarrassing loss in an attempt to hold...more
The board of directors (“Board”) of The Boeing Company (“Boeing”) agreed to a staggering $237.5 million settlement of a lawsuit brought by stockholders on behalf of Boeing alleging that the Board and certain executive...more
The crushing aftermath of the tragic 737 MAX scandal is disturbing at the least. Innocent lives were lost because of Boeing’s culture misfires, poor leadership at the management and board level, and an arrogant disregard for...more
In its decision, the Chancery Court methodically analyzed the weaknesses in Boeing’s board processes and its fundamental failure to meet basic Caremark standards in tackling airplane safety issues, particularly after the Lion...more
When I reviewed again the US Department of Justice’s conclusions reached as part of the Boeing criminal investigation, and the Delaware Chancery Court’s decision denying Boeing’s motion to dismiss the shareholder derivative...more
On September 7, 2021, a Delaware court largely denied The Boeing Company’s (“Boeing”) motion to dismiss a stockholder derivative suit against Boeing directors in connection with two crashes of Boeing’s 737 MAX airplane in...more
On March 25, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Ford Motor Co. Montana Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct. Ford Motor Co. v. Bandemer cases holding that the due process test for specific jurisdiction does not depend on a strict...more
Boeing’s criminal conduct, as described in the settlement papers, centered on two of its 737 MAX Flight Technical Pilots, who deceived the FAA about an important aircraft part called the Maneuvering Characteristics...more
After two foreign-territory crashes and a resulting 21-month-plus forced grounding, the Boeing 737 MAX returned to the U.S. skies on December 29, 2020, which followed authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration...more
This webinar, hosted by Carlton Fields for the Alaska Airmen's Association, explains how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responds to pilot deviations that violate the code of federal regulations or call into...more
Boeing is still under investigation. A grand jury is investigating potential safety and obstructions allegations. Congressional investigations are continuing....more
Volvo’s owner, Li Shufu, is mulling over a move to combine the carmaker with his publicly traded Geely Automobile Holdings—a play that would take Volvo public and “unify the bulk of billionaire Li’s growing stable of...more
Boeing Co.’s 737 MAX aircraft face continued problems from “potentially hazardous wiring.” European regulators want the manufacturer to relocate some of the wiring to prevent “potential short circuit[s], which in a worst-case...more
Saudi Aramco’s slow trickle of IPO-related information continued this weekend, including its goal of setting overall company market value at a staggering $1.7 trillion. The figure, though massive, is still well short of the...more
One cannot open a newspaper or see a news report without hearing about the two horrific crashes of the brand new Boeing 737 MAX that occurred on a Lion Air flight on October 28, 2018, and, most recently, on an Ethiopian...more
In a March 27, 2019 appearance before the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation and Space, Daniel K. Elwell, Acting Administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) sought to clarify the FAA’s role in the certification...more
Subcommittee’s probe of FAA’s oversight role in certifying the aircraft is the first step in a larger review—and possible major overhaul—of agency’s aircraft certification process and pilot training standards. The FAA is...more
With new data pointing to similarities between the Lion Air and Ethiopian Air Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes, the White House has decided to override the FAA and ground all models of the plane in the US....more
The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, enacted on Oct. 5, 2018, has clarified and confirmed the pre-emptive effect of the federal statute intended to shield from liability owners, lessors and secured parties not in operational...more
There was a time when aircraft owners were a frequent target of accident litigation. Despite frequent assertion by the defense bar (including the author) of the reasons that mere ownership without more (such as improper...more
The General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994 (“GARA”) was a byproduct of aging aircraft, rising costs, and tort liability in the United States. Congress was concerned that aircraft manufacturers were being devastated by...more