Boeing asked a Delaware court to throw out a shareholders' lawsuit over the safety of its 737 Max following fatal crashes, saying the board engaged in "robust and well-established" oversight of the jet's development.
In an amended complaint unsealed in February, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who heads the state pension fund, and other investors argued that Boeing's board breached its fiduciary duties and acted with gross negligence by failing "to monitor the safety of Boeing's 737 Max airplanes".
The lawsuit, filed in Delaware Chancery Court, also alleges that the board did not develop any tools to evaluate and monitor airplane safety until after two 737 Max crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia killed 346 people in a span of five months, and the fleet was grounded.
It also said the board did not receive a briefing about the basics of airplane safety until the end of April 2019, several weeks after the jet's worldwide grounding.
In its motion to dismiss the complaint, made public on Monday, Boeing said the plaintiffs ignore "the robust systems that had long been in place" to keep the board informed about significant risk issues.
"Boeing's directors maintained this high scrutiny, moreover, during a period in which commercial aircraft, and Boeing's in particular, achieved ever higher levels of safety ... a trend that cannot be squared with [the] plaintiffs' simplistic narrative about a 'safety-engineering culture' that had been 'intentionally dismantled'," Boeing said.
The company had management briefings to the board and an internal corporate audit group to evaluate risks, as well as a mechanism to receive reports on employee ethics and compliance complaints, Boeing said.
A Boeing representative referred to the filing and declined to comment further. A lawyer representing the plaintiffs declined to comment.
Since 2019, Boeing's board has implemented changes to improve oversight of Boeing's engineering and industrial operations as the company navigated the fallout over the grounding of its best-selling 737 Max for nearly two years after the crashes.
Emails and memos released under court orders on March 4 show executives and board members discussing ways of combatting negative press coverage, and one veteran board member suggesting the board elevate its attention to safety and quality at their meetings.
"I believe we should devote the entire board meeting (other than required committee meetings and reports) to a review of quality within Boeing," veteran board member Art Collins wrote to fellow board member Dave Calhoun, now Boeing's chief executive, days after the second crash in 2019.
Boeing later acknowledged, as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Justice Department in January this year, that the company concealed details about a crucial flight control system at the centre of the two crashes from the US Federal Aviation Administration.
Boeing employees also worked to have references to the system, known as MCAS, omitted from flight crew operating manuals as part of the company's goal of avoiding costlier pilot training requirements, according to the agreement.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
