Author: Sheryl L. Axelrod and Lisa J. Savitt, The Axelrod Firm, P.C.
A. The Cost of Not Protecting Whistleblowers
The price of not creating a safe environment to foster, fully investigate, and tend to air carrier-related whistleblower input, can be staggering. Take, for example, the lives and money lost in connection with the Boeing 737 Max 8. On October 29, 2018, one such aircraft plummeted into the Java Sea in Indonesia. All 189 people onboard died. Less than 5 months later on March 10, 2019 in Ethiopia, another Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft crashed. All 157 people onboard died bringing the total number of fatalities in the two crashes to 346.
he Boeing 737 Max aircraft have been grounded since these accidents, and Boeing’s woes don’t end there. Multiple airlines are suing Boeing for their lost use of the aircraft. According to Business Traveler, in settling one such suit alone, that brought against Boeing by Southwest Airlines, Boeing paid $125 million. The Hill reported that Boeing also settled with American Airlines for a confidential sum.