US, Boeing reach deal to resolve MAX criminal case
The Justice Department said Friday it reached a preliminary agreement with Boeing to settle a long-running criminal probe into deadly 737 MAX crashes, drawing condemnation from some crash victim families.
Under an 'agreement in principle,' Boeing will pay $1.1 billion and the Department of Justice (DOJ) would dismiss a criminal charge against Boeing over its conduct in the certification of the MAX, DOJ said in a federal filing.
A judge must approve the accord, which would scuttle a criminal trial scheduled for June in Fort Worth, Texas.
The agreement would resolve the case without requiring Boeing to plead guilty to fraud in the certification of the MAX, which was involved in two crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives.
Family members of some MAX victims slammed the proposed settlement as a giveaway to Boeing.
'The message sent by this action to companies around the country is, don't worry about making your products safe for your customers,' said Javier de Luis in a statement released by attorneys for plaintiffs suing Boeing.
'This kind of non-prosecution deal is unprecedented and obviously wrong for the deadliest corporate crime in US history,' said Paul Cassell, an attorney representing relatives of victims. 'My families will object and hope to convince the court to reject it.'
But the DOJ, in its brief, cited other family members who expressed a desire for closure, quoting one who said 'the grief resurfaces every time this case is discussed in court or other forums.'
Family members of more than 110 crash victims told the government 'they either support the Agreement specifically, support the Department's efforts to resolve the case pre-trial more generally or do not oppose the agreement,' the filing said.
The DOJ filing called the accord 'a fair and just resolution that serves the public interest.'
'The Agreement guarantees further accountability and substantial benefits from Boeing immediately, while avoiding the uncertainty and litigation risk presented by proceeding to trial,' it said.
Friday's proposed agreement marks the latest development in a marathon case that came in the wake of the two crashes that tarnished Boeing's reputation and contributed to leadershipshakeups at the aviation giant.
The case dates to a January 2021 DOJ agreement with Boeing that settled charges that the company knowingly defrauded the Federal Aviation Administration during the MAX certification.
The 2021 accord included a three-year probation period. But in May 2024, the DOJ determined that Boeing had violated the 2021 accord following a number of subsequent safety lapses.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Insider
2 days ago
- Gulf Insider
Flying Fatalities Are Extremely Rare
Investigations into the cause of last week's deadly Air India plane crash are currently underway, with the cockpit voice recorder in the plane's second black box having now been recovered. All but one of the 242 people aboard the Air India 171 flight bound for London-Gatwick on June 12 were killed soon after it took off from India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad. At least 29 people on the ground also perished as the plane crashed into the campus of a medical college. Trainee doctors and students who were there at the time rushed to save their colleagues. Despite the heavy scrutiny Boeing has come under in the past year for the safety issues of its other planes, last week marked the first time a Boeing 787 has crashed in its 16-year history. As Statista's Anna Fleck reports, according to data published by the World Bank and Our World in Data shows that while these disasters do happen, they are extremely rare and commercial aviation has become far safer over the decades. In 2023, there were 0.03 fatalities per million passengers, or in other words, three deaths per 100 million. According to this data, 2023 was the second safest year since records began, following only after 2017 when 0.01 deaths per million passengers were recorded.
Daily Tribune
6 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Airbus touts plane orders, Boeing focused on crash probe at air show
European aeroplane manufacturer Airbus announced Saudi and Polish orders for more than 100 aircraft at the Paris Air Show on Monday while US rival Boeing focused on 'supporting customers' after the Air India crash. The sales rivalry between Boeing and European aerospace giant Airbus usually drives the headlines as the world's top civilian plane makers announce many of their biggest orders at the air show in Le Bourget. But Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg said last week he was cancelling plans to attend the biennial event to spend time on the probe into the 787 Dreamliner crash. 'Our focus is on supporting our customers, rather than announcing orders at this air show,' a Boeing spokeswoman told AFP at the trade fair in Le Bourget. The London-bound Dreamliner crashed shortly after take off in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, killing 241 passengers and crew and another 38 people on the ground. One passenger survived. For its part, Airbus announced that Riyadh Air, an airline founded in 2023, placed a 'firm' order for 25 wide-body, long-range A350-1000 aircraft. The deal would be worth more than $9 billion under 2018 catalogue prices -- which Airbus has since phased out as final sale prices vary according to contract terms and the version of an aircraft. The Riyadh Air deal could rise to 50 planes, Airbus said. Saudi aircraft leasing company AviLease placed a separate order for 30 single-aisle A320neo jets and 10 A350F freighters in a deal worth around $7 billion. The deal could rise to 22 A350F cargo planes and 55 A320neo aircraft. Polish airline LOT -- which has traditionally purchased planes from Boeing and Brazilian manufacturer Embraer -- picked Airbus for the first time, ordering 40 A220 planes worth $3.4 billion. Embraer announced that the Portuguese government had ordered a sixth KC-390 Millennium military transport plane after buying five in 2019.
Daily Tribune
12-06-2025
- Daily Tribune
Boeing Shares Tumble Following Air India Plane Crash
Shares of U.S. aerospace giant Boeing fell sharply on Thursday following the crash of an Air India aircraft shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India. The aircraft, identified as a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was en route to London's Gatwick Airport when it went down near a civilian area shortly after departure. The incident has reignited safety concerns and added pressure on Boeing, which is already navigating efforts to restore public confidence and ramp up production under new CEO Kelly Orthberg. In premarket trading, Boeing shares slid 8% to $196.52. Analysts say the drop reflects renewed investor anxiety surrounding the company's safety record. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined. Boeing stated it is aware of the reports and is working to gather more details. The crash adds to a string of challenges for the aircraft manufacturer, which is striving to turn the page on several years of scrutiny over its safety standards and regulatory compliance.
