In a further legal blow to Boeing, a Seattle law firm has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the aviation giant. The suit represents 14 families devastated by the 2024 Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crash.
This tragedy claimed 179 lives, making it South Korea’s deadliest aviation disaster. At its heart are allegations of outdated electrical and hydraulic systems and design flaws in the aging 737 fleet.
Jeju Air Accident Overview
On December 29, 2024, Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 departed Bangkok for Muan International Airport in South Korea. As it approached runway 01, a bird strike impacted both engines.
Pilots initiated a go-around and declared a mayday. The sequence of events then unfolds rapidly. Birds obstructed the engines, causing significant thrust reduction, especially on the right-hand engine.
The aircraft then belly-landed without deploying landing gear. A runway excursion then occurred at over 175 mph in the overshoot end of the active runway.
The aircraft then impacted a concrete berm which enclosed the ILS antenna array, and burst into flames. Of 181 aboard (176 passengers, 5 crew), only two tail-section crew members survived.
South Korea’s investigators point to the bird strike as the trigger, yet questions linger. Why couldn’t pilots deploy gear or flaps? Why did systems fail in cascade?
South Korea Orders 737 Fleet Inspections
The crash sparked immediate regulatory action. South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) mandated inspections of every Boeing 737 in the country.
Checks targeted engines, hydraulics, electrical systems, and bird-strike resilience. Commenced in early January 2025, the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) lead the probe.
Early findings have highlighted systemic vulnerabilities in the 737-800 design. This order underscores global worries about Boeing’s workhorse jet, in service since 1997.
The Lawsuit: Boeing’s “Outdated” 737 Design Under Fire
On October 15, 2025, Seattle’s Herrmann Law Group filed the case in King County Superior Court, Washington.
This product liability action represents the 14 grieving families, seeking compensatory and punitive damages in unspecified amounts.
The key claims are compelling:
Legacy Systems: The 737’s electrical and hydraulic setups originate from 1967, with engineering roots tracing back to 1958. Even the “Next Generation” 737-800 variant, introduced in 1997, retained these unchanged components without modern upgrades.
Cascade Failure: Following the bird strike, ingestion of birds (up to four 1-pounders per engine) triggered electrical blackouts and hydraulic breakdowns. This prevented deployment of gear and flaps, leaving pilots without essential control during descent.
Corporate Blame: Boeing’s 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas shifted its focus from safety-first engineering to profit-driven shortcuts. Former CEO Harry Stonecipher exemplifies this troubling cultural change.
This lawsuit echoes earlier 737 MAX cases from the 2018-2019 crashes. Boeing has expressed cooperation with investigations but has remained silent on its specific defense.
Meanwhile, FAA scrutiny continues to intensify – last month alone, the agency issued a $3.1 million fine for unrelated violations.
Boeing’s stock dipped 1-2% in after-hours trading following the filing. Pressure is mounting amid ongoing FAA probes.
Conclusion
For the families, this represents a vital pursuit of justice. For the aviation industry at large, it serves as an urgent call to modernize aging fleets.
South Korea’s inspections are wrapping up soon, and ARAIB reports are on the horizon. Additional lawsuits seem inevitable.
Boeing must confront these design flaws head-on or risk even steeper consequences.
The Jeju Air tragedy serves as a stark reminder: Safety can never be optional. As one lawyer poignantly stated, “Outdated systems kill.”
