When the board of directors of Boeing Co. about seven weeks after the initial 737 MAX crash at its end of 2018 had its first formal meeting, directors did not have in-depth discussions about the safety of the aircraft.
Months later, the current CEO of Boeing told reporters the directors of the company moved quickly to address the crash, according to excerpts from the documents contained in a shareholder case.
This and other new information in the case raises doubts as to whether Boeing directors pressured management over safety issues or seriously considered having the aircraft grounded before a second 737 MAX crash occurred in early 2019.
Parts of the internal Boeing documents, which indicate the dates and details of the meetings held by the directors and which were discussed, are quoted in the action of the shareholders and allege that directors have breached their fiduciary duties to oversee the management. In the case, it is also alleged that David Calhoun, then the chief executive who later became CEO, exaggerated the journalists to what extent the directors paid attention to safety issues between and in the aftermath of the two accidents.
In the case, it is alleged that Mr. Calhoun, who became chief executive in early 2020, launched a public relations campaign that “insisted that the board acted more urgently and was more involved than it really was” after the two accidents in which 346 people died in October is dead. 2018 and March 2019. The case mentions internal Boeing emails and other documents that were not previously disclosed.