Boeing posts first loss since 1997 after 737 Max crisis

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - Boeing on Wednesday posted its first annual loss since 1997, saying the “financial results continue to be significantly impacted” by the 737 MAX grounding.

Boeing's top-selling aircraft model was grounded worldwide after two crashes that cost hundreds of lives and the company billions of dollars.

On March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET-302 crashed shortly after taking off from Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, killing all 157 onboard.

The model was also involved in the October 2018 crash outside Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. All 189 people on board Lion Air Flight JT610 were killed.

The company stopped new deliveries of the plane after facing the biggest crisis in its 103-year history.

Boeing said it lost $636 million in 2019, posting the company’s first annual loss since 1997.

Boeing also noted a loss of $2.33 per share for the fourth quarter of 2019, with revenue in the last three months of the year decreasing to $17.91 billion.

U.S. President Donald Trump last week said Boeing was a "big disappointment," saying its troubled 737 Max airplane harmed the U.S. economy.

"Very disappointing company," Trump said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, when asked about Boeing's new timeline to return the model to the skies.

Documents released recently by Boeing regarding design and certification of 737 Max airplanes revealed that the employees mocked regulators and admitted flaws with the plane.

In one message, employees mocked the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and touted of having regulators approve the jets without requiring additional pilot training, according to NPR's report published earlier this month.

"This airplane is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys," wrote one worker in another message.