Boeing investors: Board of directors misled the public
New details in a Boeing investor lawsuit claim to shed light on how the company’s directors handled safety oversight before and after the two deadly crashes of 737 Max jets, then deliberately misled the public through interviews with The Washington Post and other media.
The 120-page complaint, made public by a Delaware judge this month, quotes internal company emails and board records to make the argument that Boeing directors repeatedly moved in lockstep with the company’s management instead of challenging it on safety.
For example, while Boeing directors have publicly said they deliberated over whether to ground the entire fleet of 737 Max jets after a crash killed 189 people in Indonesia, Boeing emails and board meeting minutes and agendas contain no evidence the board ever discussed grounding the airplanes in the months between that incident and a crash that killed 157 people in Ethiopia, according to the lawsuit.
Beyond exposing current and former board members to legal liability, the shareholder action raises questions about the truthfulness of David Calhoun, a Boeing director who took over as chief executive of the aerospace giant last year after the board ousted his direct predecessor, Dennis Muilenburg. The lawsuit accuses Calhoun of leading a dishonest public relations campaign in the wake of the second crash, including potentially misleading claims during a May 2019 interview with The Post.
In a statement, Boeing spokesman Bradley Akubuiro said the lawsuit presents “a distorted account” of public comments given by directors in the wake of the crashes.
“Boeing’s senior management and its board engaged in robust safety oversight during the time period in question, including through extensive reviews of Boeing’s engineering processes, airplane development programs, and production system,” Akubuiro said in the statement.
The company has filed a motion to dismiss the claims in the lawsuit, which outlines several instances in which the management gave the board of directors frequent updates about the 737 Max.