Norwegian Air Accuses Aircraft Manufacturer Boeing of Fraud in Damning New Lawsuit
The low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle has filed a
lawsuit against aircraft manufacturer Boeing, accusing the company of gross
negligence, fraud and breach of contract in relation to its troubled 737MAX
aircraft and the 787 Dreamliner. The suit was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook
County, Illinois where Boeing is headquartered on Monday.
The colourfully written lawsuit alleges Boeing engaged “in a
pattern of intentional misrepresentation and omission, gross negligence, and
shoddy manufacturing, producing aircraft with substantially impaired value and
utility”.
Lawyers acting on behalf of Norwegian want Boeing to take
its “defective planes” back and offer the airline compensation for the
“enormous economic” damages its actions have caused. Norwegian reported a loss
of $159 million in 2019, which it blamed on the Boeing 737MAX.
The suit claims Norwegian was “induced” to spend billions of
dollars on an order for 111 Boeing 737MAX jets after being promised a
significantly more fuel-efficient plane which wouldn’t require additional pilot
training and that would cost less to operate than a rival model made by
European manufacturer Airbus.
Instead, Norwegian accuses Boeing of feeding it a “pack of
lies” and a “bogus story” of a safe, state-of-the-art plane “that Boeing knew
it was not actually building”.
“Boeing applied relentless pressure on its engineers from
the outset of the program to prioritize speed over quality, deliberately ‘Jedi
mind tricked’ the FAA into approving the plane’s design in the words of its own
employees, and systematically cut corners along the way in a highly flawed
design process that produced a highly flawed airplane,” the lawsuit alleges.
The 737MAX was built on the design of the popular 737NG but
was fitted with much larger engines to make it more fuel-efficient. The larger
engines had to be fitted in front of the wings which in turn altered the MAX’s
center of gravity. To counter this problem, engineers developed the
controversial MCAS system that forced the nose down.
A flaw in the design of the MCAS system is believed to be
responsible for the fatal crashes of a Lion Air 737MAX and an Ethiopian
Airlines 737MAX in less than six months of one another. All 737MAX aircraft
were grounded in March 2019 and may not be certified to fly again until
sometime later this year.
As a result, Norwegian says it “has had to leave $1 billion
worth of aircraft sitting on the tarmac and in storage”.
Similar accusations of lies and defective manufacturing have
been made against Boeing in relation to its 787 Dreamliner.
“Norwegian paid top dollar for a fleet of 787’s, but they
have been an operational disaster and have failed to bring any of the cost
benefits or competitive advantages that Boeing promised,” the lawsuit
continues.
The airline says its Dreamlimners have suffered
“extraordinary defects” and “are a product of shoddy manufacturing”. The
issues, most notable of which are problems with the Rolls-Royce manufactured
Trent engines have forced Norwegian to repeatedly ground its fleet of 787’s for
heavy maintenance, sometimes for months at a time.
Norwegian is not only hoping to win compensation from Boeing but is also demanding the right to terminate its purchase agreements for 737MAX and 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The airline will also seek to cancel a ‘GoldCare’ maintenance contract – the largest ever such contract signed between an airline and Boeing.
It’s incredibly unusual for an airline to so publicly
criticise an aircraft manufacturer, although the Corona crisis has reportedly
led to increasing tension between airlines and the likes of Boeing and Airbus,
especially over which side should foot the bill over unwanted and unneeded
aircraft.
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