The Wall Street Journal brings us the report of Boeing’s baffling mental gymnastics in attempting to avoid culpability in the two 737 Max crashes that killed a total of 346 people.
WSJ reports, in a recent court filing Boeing attorneys “cited an expert who said that the 737 MAX victims died painlessly because the airplane crashed into the ground so fast that their brains didn’t have time to process pain signals from their nervous systems.”
“Boeing recognizes the tremendous tragedy suffered by the families,” attorneys wrote in a filing from February 27th viewed by WSJ. However, the attorneys argue that Illinois laws “provide that evidence of passengers’ pre-impact pain and suffering may not be admitted to support a damages award in this case.”
The airplane company hired an expert witness — Jonathan French, described as an expert in human factors and aerospace physiology — who said in a court filing that “While passengers undoubtedly perceived the flight as scary, humans have a tendency to hold on to hope and not expect the worst […] Ultimately, it is impossible to know the subjective experience of each occupant,” WSJ reports.
Plaintiffs aren’t buying it, writing in a court filing that passengers on Flight 302 “undeniably suffered horrific emotional distress, pain and suffering, and physical impact/injury while they endured extreme G-forces, braced for impact, knew the airplane was malfunctioning, and ultimately plummeted nose-down to the ground at terrifying speed,” WSJ reports.
