(New York) An agreement made public Friday between former and current Boeing board members and shareholders accusing them, after the two 737 MAX accidents, of having failed in their obligations, provides for the payment to the company in compensation of $ 237.5 million.
Still to be validated by a judge, the agreement was unveiled by the services of the Comptroller of the State of New York and the Association of Retired Firefighters and Police of Colorado, which had seized, in June 2020, the Court of the Delaware Chancery.
The shareholders criticized the members of the board, including several former executives of the company, for not having ensured the existence and proper functioning of control and information instruments relating to the safety of the 737 MAX.
The agreement provides for the payment of $ 237.5 million from insurers of former and current board members affected by the complaint to Boeing.
the Wall Street Journal, who had the first announced an agreement Thursday evening, had mentioned the sum of 225 million.
The text also includes the creation of a post of mediator to whom certain employees can directly report their comments on working conditions as well as the appointment of an administrator with experience “in aviation / aeronautics, engineering and / or supervision of product safety ”.
Launched in 2011 and first put into service in 2017, the 737 MAX was involved in two crashes, one by Lion Air in October 2018 and the other by Ethiopian Airlines in March 2019, which resulted in 346 deaths in total.
Investigations have revealed that these accidents were linked to the Anti-Stall System (MCAS).
Shareholders highlighted the fact that none of the board committees deal specifically with safety.
The agreement does not include an acknowledgment of negligence on the part of those affected by the proceedings.
“We sued the Boeing board of directors because it failed in its responsibility to oversee safety and protect the company, its shareholders and its customers from unsafe business practices,” the controller said in a statement. from New York State, Thomas P. DiNapoli.
“We hope that in the future the reforms agreed in this agreement will help protect Boeing and passengers from further tragedies and begin to restore the reputation of the company,” he added.