Believes Planemaker Has Tried To Deflect Blame For 737 MAX Accident

Indonesian carrier Lion Air is reportedly looking at the possible cancelation of $22 billion in orders from Boeing in the wake of an accident involving a 737 MAX-8 airplane in October.

The South China Morning Post reports that Lion Air co-founder Rusdi Kirana is "furious" over what he says is an attempt by Boeing to shift blame for the accident, which fatally injured 189 people, from design flaws to the airline's maintenance records and crew actions.

Accordingly, Kirana is considering whether to cancel orders beginning with the next scheduled delivery. The airline has 190 Boeing airplanes on order. It has taken delivery of 197 airplanes, making it one of the planemaker's largest customers.

The threat to cancel the order may be a ploy to open negotiations with Boeing.

The South China Morning Post reports that Lion Air would not comment on any possible cancellation, and it is not known how much of the airline is owned by Kirana. He co-founded the carrier in 2000 with his brother.

Investigators say the airplane was airworthy when it departed Jakarta on October 29. The Indonesian government has released a preliminary report based on its initial investigation and data collected from the Flight Data Recorder that was recovered from the Java Sea. The cockpit voice recorder has not been located. However, the report does not reach any conclusion about the cause of the accident.

Boeing said in a statement that the planemaker is "aking every measure to fully understand all aspects of this accident, and are working closely with the investigating team and all regulatory authorities involved. We are also supporting our valued customer through this very tough time."

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report, Indonesia preliminary report