The US Justice Department is moving forward with criminal charges against Boeing related to two fatal crashes involving its 737 MAX jets in 2018 and 2019. The department plans to offer Boeing a plea agreement that includes a guilty plea to conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), along with a substantial financial penalty and three years of oversight by an independent monitor.
The decision comes after the Justice Department found Boeing in violation of a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that shielded the company from prosecution over the crashes. If Boeing declines the plea agreement, prosecutors intend to take the company to trial.
Boeing and the Justice Department have not yet commented on the specifics of the plea agreement. The proposed financial penalty is set at $487.2 million, with Boeing potentially required to pay half of that amount due to credits from a previous settlement related to the crashes.
Victims' family members, informed of the decision by the Justice Department, have expressed dissatisfaction with the proposed agreement, viewing the financial penalty as inadequate and believing Boeing should face more severe consequences for its role in the crashes.
The plea agreement, if accepted, would also subject Boeing to probation and require its board to meet with victims' families. However, family members have indicated their intention to oppose the agreement in court, arguing for tougher penalties and holding Boeing more accountable for the tragic events.
This move by the Justice Department marks a significant escalation in Boeing's legal challenges and underscores ongoing concerns about corporate accountability in the aviation industry.
