A federal judge in Washington has ruled that Boeing must provide a decade of internal documents regarding the safety and certification of its 737 Max aircraft to subsidiaries of Norwegian Air Shuttle, as part of an ongoing Boeing 737 Max documents jet purchase dispute.
The plaintiffs, a group of corporate entities holding title to aircraft leased to Norwegian Air, allege that Boeing misrepresented the safety and reliability of the 737 Max ahead of multiple aircraft purchases dating back to 2017. U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez ordered Boeing to release communications and records covering the development of the 737 Max from 2011 through Boeing’s public admission under a January 2021 deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that it withheld key engineering information.
“Although it might seem unorthodox to review materials after the sale of these planes to establish fraud, plaintiffs are correct that Boeing should have documents addressing misrepresentations about the 737 Max as late as 2020-2021,” Judge Martinez stated.
The 737 Max jets were grounded globally following two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019, which claimed 346 lives. Investigations identified a malfunction risk in the aircraft’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which was omitted from pilot training materials and manuals.
Boeing previously settled a DOJ conspiracy claim for over $2.5 billion in January 2021, but subsequent incidents, including a midair door-plug blowout in 2024, led to allegations of breach and renewed scrutiny.
The Norwegian Air subsidiaries, led by AAA Max 1 Ltd., assert that they would not have purchased 12 737 Max jets had they been fully informed of the aircraft’s issues. The case, initially filed in Illinois in 2022, was later transferred to the Western District of Washington.
Judge Martinez’s order also addressed discovery motions, granting a July filing from AAA Max entities that seeks documents covering the aircraft’s manufacturing, marketing, testing, certification, and airworthiness. Boeing had previously limited its searches to 2011–2017, later offering to extend through 2019, citing burden concerns.
Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
