Insight and Commentary on aviation accidents and the law
Normally, the FAA cannot be sued for doing a bad job certifying an aircraft as safe. But in the case of the 737 Max, things might be different.
As a general rule, the FAA cannot be sued as long as, in certifying the aircraft as safe, it was exercising its “discretion.” The United States Supreme…
If the United States Government is responsible for an accident, it can be sued just like any other wrongdoer under the Federal Tort Claims Act. But there’s an important exception — the federal government cannot be sued for bad decisions that the government left to the federal employee’s best judgment. The "Discretionary Function Exception"…