Boeing has reached a provisional agreement with the US Department of Justice that would allow the manufacturer to avoid criminal accusations for two fatal falls of its 737 MAX jets that occurred for over six years.
The agreement was released in a federal judicial document on Friday, a few weeks before the start of a trial scheduled for June 23 in Fort Worth, Texas. According to the Justice Department’s lawyers, the agreement provides for the company to pay more than $ 1.1 billion and strengthen quality and safety measures.
This is an impressive turnaround in a long-time legal case. Last year, Boeing agreed to declare herself to blame for a criminal conspiracy. However, this agreement was rejected in December by US District Judge Reed O’Connor, who has supervised the case since 2021.
The new agreement – achieved despite the strong objections of some families of the victims – still needs to be approved by O’Connor. The government reported that a final agreement will be presented until the end of next week, but provided an overview of the terms in its document. Among them: a fine of $ 243.6 million for Boeing and an order for the manufacturer’s board of directors to meet with the relatives of the people who died in the falls.
The provisional agreement would require Boeing to contribute US $ 444.5 million to a fund for families of victims who died in the Lion Air 610 flight accidents in October 2018 and the Ethiopian Airlines 302 flight in March 2019, according to the document. Boeing would also spend $ 455 million to strengthen its compliance, safety and quality programs as shown in the document.
“Ultimately, by applying the facts, law and policy of the department, we are confident that this resolution is the fairest result, with practical benefits,” the prosecutors said in a statement, noting that they gathered extensively with the victims’ relatives.
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Opposition of families
Families opposed any agreement that would allow Boeing to avoid criminal accusation. They fought for years to get more severe penalties from the company. Both falls were linked to a defective flight control system in 737 max jets, resulting in the death of 346 people. Boeing’s only employee facing trial was a mid -level manager who supervised pilot manuals and training materials. He was acquitted.
Boeing made no immediate comments on the deal. Boeing shares fell less than 1% at 2:43 pm in New York.
The case had several twists. In 2021, Boeing reached an agreement with the Justice Department to postpone the accusation of the accusations that he deceived regulators about the system. In this agreement, Boeing paid a fine of $ 243.6 million. In early 2024, two days before the prosecution was rejected, a port -size plug exploded from a 737 max in flight. Although no one died, the accident led to investigations and discoveries of laxum controls in Boeing factories.
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The government said Boeing violated the 2021 agreement and recommended a criminal charge. Boeing agreed to declare itself to blame, pay a fine and install an independent corporate monitor. The deal would also require the company to spend at least $ 455 million to reinforce its compliance and security programs.
But this proposal was rejected in December by O’Connor. He said the agreement diminished his role in ensuring that Boeing fulfilled his promises and that the process of selecting an independent monitor would depend on diversity, equity and inclusion policies, which the judge claimed inadequately imposing the race on the hiring decision.
In March, O’Connor ordered Boeing to be trial in June. Although he did not explain his decision, the order came a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that Boeing was looking for the Justice Department leniency and trying to avoid a criminal accusation.
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The original agreement was prepared by the Biden Administration Justice Department, which stated that it was standard practice to include Language related to Dei policies. Since taking office on January 20, President Donald Trump has eradicated diversity programs within the federal government.
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