Boeing and the Justice Department reach an agreement to bypass criminal prosecution concerning the fatal 737 Max crashes.
The U.S. Justice Department announced on Friday a non-prosecution agreement with Boeing, which will allow the aircraft manufacturer to bypass criminal charges regarding two fatal crashes of its 737 Max planes. The accidents, occurring on Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019, were attributed to the malfunctioning Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
Under the agreement, Boeing will pay or invest over $1.1 billion. This amount consists of a $487.2 million criminal fine, with $243.6 million credited due to an earlier agreement, along with a new fund for crash victims amounting to $444.5 million. The company will also allocate $445 million for safety, compliance, and quality programs.
Boeing, a key military contractor and significant U.S. exporter, will avoid being labeled a felon and will not face trial as previously scheduled next month. This decision has been met withcriticism from families of the crash victims, who have deemed such agreements as sweetheart deals for Boeing, urging for more accountability from the company and seeking trials for its executives.
In a court filing Friday, the DOJ described the agreement as "fair and just" and stated that it prevents "un certainty and litigation risk presented by proceeding to trial." It is expected that the DOJ will file a motion to dismiss the case once the "agreement in principle" is finalized by the end of next week.
Previously, in 2021, Boeing reached a settlement in the final days of the first Trump administration that protected it from prosecution for three years. Under that deal, Boeing agreed to pay a $2.51 billion fine to avoid criminal charges. The new fund established through the recent non-prosecution agreement will be in addition to the $500 million already set up.
Last year, U.S. prosecutors accused Boeing of violating the 2021 settlement by failing to establish and maintain a compliance and ethics program to detect violations of U.S. fraud laws. The company faced a potential fine of up to $487.2 million, but this was later ruled out due to new settlement terms.
Investigations into the Max's development revealed that Mark Forkner, a former top Boeing pilot found not guilty of fraud in 2022, communicated with the FAA, urging them to delete the MCAS from manuals and boasting about manipulating regulators regarding training material.
Lawyers for victims' family members have long criticized previous agreements as being too lenient towards Boeing. They argue that the company's executives should be held responsible and that the non-prosecution agreement sets a troubling precedent for other large corporations.
Boeing, after facing the crashes of its 737 Max planes, will invest in a new fund for crash victims as part of a non-prosecution agreement, which also includes allocations for safety and technology improvements. This agreement, which allows Boeing to bypass criminal charges, has garnered criticism from crash victims' families who contend that accountability should extend to the company's executives and question the leniency of such deals for large corporations.
