Families of victims from the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashes — which together killed 346 people — have filed a historic $9.8 billion lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration, alleging the agency was grossly negligent in certifying the Boeing 737 MAX MCAS system despite known safety gaps.
The lawsuit, filed in the DC Circuit, is legally unusual because the US government is generally immune from tort liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act. However, plaintiffs argue the FAA’s conduct falls under the “discretionary function exception” in a way that strips immunity — specifically, that the FAA made representational promises of safety that created a duty of care to passengers.
The FAA’s Alleged Failures
According to the 280-page complaint, the FAA:
- Delegated safety certification of the MCAS system almost entirely to Boeing employees working under FAA authority
- Received internal warnings from its own aviation safety engineers about the adequacy of MCAS documentation at least eight months before the first crash
- Failed to issue an airworthiness directive after the Lion Air crash on October 29, 2018, allowing the aircraft to continue flying for five months until the Ethiopian crash
“The FAA functioned as a rubber stamp for Boeing’s self-certification,” said attorney Erin O’Brien, who represents 67 families in the lawsuit. “The agency was not a neutral regulator — it was a co-author of the defect.”
Legal Hurdles
Legal experts say the case faces significant obstacles. Courts have repeatedly held that FAA certification decisions are discretionary acts protected by governmental immunity. The plaintiffs’ theory — that the FAA made specific safety representations rather than purely discretionary judgments — has not been tested at the appellate level.
Boeing separately settled with most crash families for undisclosed amounts in 2021 and 2022. This new action targets only the FAA.