Boeing and LOT clash in court over 737 MAX crisis fallout
May 12, 2026
Boeing has pushed back against criticism from LOT Polish Airlines over the handling of the B737 MAX crisis, arguing the carrier has continued to fly the aircraft despite its complaints.
In legal action taking place in the US, the airline accused the planemaker of “lies and deception” after the two MAX incidents and subsequent fallout which saw the type grounded, which LOT said had caused “devastating financial harm”.
But Boeing said LOT had been “crying foul and fraud” while at the same time operating the 737 MAX aircraft across its network.
LOT has 26 B737-8 MAX aircraft in its fleet.
LOT accuses Boeing of hiding safety issues with MAX
In the case taking place at the US District Court in Seattle, reported by Reuters, LOT’s attorney argued that Boeing hid safety problems related to the 737 MAX.
The dispute stretches back to October 2021, when LOT filed a $250 million lawsuit against Boeing, alleging the manufacturer misrepresented the safety and certification status of the MAX aircraft.
According to the complaint, LOT claims Boeing accelerated the aircraft’s development to defend its position in the single-aisle market, placing commercial priorities ahead of safety considerations.
The airline alleges it was led to believe the MAX was safe, airworthy, and aligned with the earlier B737 Next Generation family, influencing its decision to purchase the aircraft instead of expanding its NG fleet or opting for Airbus A320neo jets.
At the court on Monday, LOT attorney Anthony Battista was quoted by Reuters as saying: “This case is about Boeing’s lies and deception and the devastating financial harm it caused.”
Boeing’s attorney responded that LOT had been “crying foul and fraud out of one side of their mouth in the courtroom.”
Highlighting that the airline has been operating the 737 MAX as part of the narrowbody fleet, he added: “Is that how the victim of a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme behaves?”
What was the problem with the 737 MAX?
The MAX crisis centred on the aircraft’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
The two crashes by Lion Air in Indonesia and Ethiopia Airlines killed 346 people. Both crashes were found to be caused by faulty activation of the MAX’s MCAS flight control software which forced both planes into a nose dive.
The first incident that highlighted the flaw in the MCAS saw Lion Air Flight 610 (737 MAX 8, PK-LQP) crash 13 minutes after take off from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Tangerang on 29 October 2018, killing all eight crew and 181 passengers.
The crash was caused by a mis-calibrated angle-of-attack (AoA) sensor, which sent erroneous data to the MCAS.
On 10 March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (737 MAX 8, ET-AVJ) crashed in almost identical circumstances – six minutes after take off from Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport, killing all 157 on board.
Data about MCAS had been intentionally omitted by Boeing from documentation for aircrews, so the pilots of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines aircraft that crashed did not know about the system, and were unprepared to deal with the problem.
On both occasions, the MCAS repeatedly put the aircraft into an unsafe nose-down position until it crashed.
Featured image: LOT
