Justice rules: the plane should not fly
A Mexican judge has just proven what many families have suspected for almost eight years. The Boeing 737 that crashed in Cuba in May 2018, killing 112 people, had serious maintenance failures and should never have taken off.
The sentence, dated March 31, is forceful. An independent expert confirmed that it was an “institutional accident” created within the company due to negligence. The pilots were “the last barrier of defense” that could not prevent the inevitable.
“That plane flew by all of us for ten years without maintenance,” declared Samuel González, trial lawyer. “It fell in Cuba… but it could have fallen anywhere.”.
An exemplary sentence and a fight that continues
The judge ordered Damojh Airlines – which operated as Global Air – to pay 1.5 million dollars per family to the relatives of the four crew members who initiated this lawsuit. The company did not even appear at the trial, being judged in absentia.
The irony – or rather, the predictability – is that Cuba initially attributed the incident to “crew miscalculations.” Meanwhile, Mexican authorities had temporarily suspended the company… after the accident, of course.
González does not bite his tongue: “It is an exemplary sentence… that was proven after many efforts.” The judge confirmed what the maintenance chief had said from day one: “that the plane could not fly,” especially because days before it had suffered a crash.
But this doesn’t end here. González suspects that Damojh is processing a “fraudulent bankruptcy”, something that they will denounce if it is confirmed. Additionally:
- There is a collective civil action pending for all victims
- There is a criminal complaint for homicide against the company and those responsible
- It is being investigated whether Mexican authorities committed an omission when authorizing the flight
The criminal investigation is going slowly because, according to the lawyer, the Cuban authorities have not provided the requested information. The Mexican prosecutor’s office, for its part, remains silent when asked about the case.
Eight years later, families are still searching for complete answers. The sentence is an important step, but it remains to be seen how far this chain of responsibilities will go – and whether anyone else will be held accountable for allowing a plane in poor condition to take off with 113 people on board.
