Boeing shareholders are suing the company, claiming it put safety at risk in a reckless pursuit of profits that ended in the 2 fatal 737 Max crashes

Callum Burroughs,Callum Burroughs

Apr 10, 2019, 15:09 IST

Boeing shareholders are suing the company, claiming it put safety at risk in a reckless pursuit of profits that ended in the 2 fatal 737 Max crashes

FILE - In this Monday, March 11, 2019 file photo, rescuers work at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Pilots of the Ethiopian Airlines flight encountered problems with their new Boeing jetliner from nearly the moment they roared down the runway and took off. Ethiopian authorities issued a preliminary report Thursday, April 4, 2019, on the March 10 crash. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene, File)

Associated Press

Debris from a Boeing 737 Max, operated by Ethiopian Airlines, which crashed in March 2019.

Boeing's problems continue to mount after shareholders launched a legal challenge, claiming they were defrauded over the 737 Max's safety deficiencies.
The lawsuit alleges securities fraud violations after the company's stock plummeted $34 billion since a fatal crash in Ethiopia last month, the second of two.
Boeing "effectively put profitability and growth ahead of airplane safety and honesty," according to the filing at a Chicago federal court, as reported by Reuters.
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The fallout from Boeing's recent difficulties over a fatal crash in Ethiopia continued when shareholders filed a lawsuit against the company.

The filing at a Chicago federal court alleges that the aerospace company defrauded investors over the safety features of Boeing's 737 Max aircraft which was involved in two fatal crashes: one in Ethiopia last month and another in Indonesia last year.

According to the filing Boeing "effectively put profitability and growth ahead of airplane safety and honesty," as reported by Reuters.

The suit names Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg and Chief Financial Officer Gregory Smith as defendants,

The company's stock has fallen $34 billion since the crash in Ethiopia last month in which 157 people died despite the pilots onboard following the relevant procedures to prevent the crash.

It follows a similar incident on a Lion Air flight which crashed in Indonesia five months before, killing 176 people.

The securities fraud violations lawsuit, filed by shareholder Richard Seeks, alleges that Boeing rushed out the 737 Max model to compete with European rival Airbus while neglecting to include "extra" or "optional" features which may have prevented the crashes, according to the filing, as reported by Reuters.

The 737 Max has been grounded globally, and orders for the aircraft have dried following the incidents.

Boeing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Get the latest Boeing stock price here.