Lion Air Victim’s Parents File Lawsuit against Boeing for ‘Unsafe Design’

In probably the first time, the parents of a passenger onboard an airliner has sued the aircraft manufacturer for design issues.

The parents of Rio Nanda Putrama, a passenger travelling to Pangkal Pinang onboard the Lion Air flight that crashed into the Java sea last month killing 189 people have sued the aircraft manufacturer, Boeing for its 737 Max 8 aircraft’s alleged ‘unsafe design’.

The lawsuit filed on Thursday in the circuit court of cook county, Illinois, is based on the new safety feature that can cause the aircraft to auto-dive in certain situations.

The lawsuit was filed against Boeing after Zwingli Silalahi, Lion Air's Operational Director, said on Wednesday that Boeing failed to warn pilots about the potential hazards of the new safety feature implicated in the crash.

Lion Air Flight 610 crashed shortly after taking off from the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on October 29. Investigators believe the MAX 8 plane may have experienced problems with several sensors.

Boeing in its statement has stated that it is providing support and technical assistance to the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee and other government authorities responsible for the investigation into Lion Air flight 610.

On November 6, 2018, Boeing issued an Operations Manual Bulletin (OMB) directing operators to existing flight crew procedures to address circumstances where there is erroneous input from an AOA sensor, it stated.

The Boeing press statement issued on October 29 said, “Boeing is providing technical assistance at the request and under the direction of government authorities investigating the accident. In accordance with international protocol, all inquiries about this accident investigation must be directed to the investigating authority in charge, the National Transportation Safety Committee of Indonesia”.