DOJ confirms it will not prosecute Boeing for role in deadly 737 Max crashes
The Justice Department said Friday it has reached an 'agreement in principle' with Boeing to dismiss a criminal case against the company in connection with its role in two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
It said it would ask a federal court to dismiss the case by no later than the end of next week. The development confirms what families had said they were told by prosecutors in a private videoconference last week. The deal marks a reversal after the company agreed last year to plead guilty to one count of fraud.
Government prosecutors made Friday's disclosure in a status update to Judge Reed O'Connor of the Northern District of Texas, who must approve the deal. They called the agreement 'a fair and just resolution that serves the public interest.' Boeing declined to comment.
Under the terms of the two-year, non-prosecution agreement, Boeing would admit to 'conspiracy to obstruct and impede the lawful operation of the FAA Aircraft Evaluation group.' It also would be required to pay $444.5 million into a crash victims' fund that would go to relatives, in addition to other previously agreed up payments and penalties. Rather than being subject to oversight by an independent monitor, as Boeing agreed to last year under the previous agreement, the company would be required to hire a compliance consultant.
'The Agreement guarantees further accountability and substantial benefits from Boeing immediately, while avoiding the uncertainty and litigation risk presented by proceeding to trial,' prosecutors wrote Friday.
They said they finalized terms after presenting an outline of the new agreement to the families of the victims last week.
In their filing, Justice Department officials said that some families approved of the agreement, saying they were eager to bring a close to the long-running case. But they acknowledge that some are sharply critical about the decision not to take the company to trial. The Justice Department has said Boeing deceived federal regulators about a software system installed on the 737 Max jets that was implicated in the two crashes — one in 2018 in Indonesia and the other five months later in 2019 in Ethiopia.
If O'Connor accepts the deal and dismisses the case, it would mark the end of a legal saga related to criminal culpability in the crashes. Civil lawsuits brought by families would continue.
During the first Trump administration, Boeing reached a three-year deferred prosecution agreement. Under the terms, Boeing was required to pay a fine and meet certain conditions, including strengthening internal programs aimed at detecting and preventing future incidents of fraud. If it met the requirements after three years, the criminal charge would be dropped.
But just two days before the agreement was set to expire, opening up a six-month review period, a door panel blew off another 737 Max jet. After a review, federal prosecutors under the Biden administration determined that Boeing was in breach of the deferred prosecution agreement. The company disagreed but agreed last summer to plead guilty to one count of fraud.
Court proceedings delayed the final resolution of the case for months, and a new presidential administration took over the Justice Department in January.
The dismissal of the criminal case will mean that Boeing, which has myriad defense and space contracts, will not need to seek waivers to do business with the government. Companies convicted of certain felonies are barred from doing business with the government and must seek waivers.
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