DOJ moves to end Boeing felony case
With help from Oriana Pawlyk
QUICK FIX
— The Justice Department announced a non-prosecution agreement with Boeing in an ongoing fraud conspiracy case tied to deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
— The Army wrapped up an internal review after an early May incident in which a Black Hawk helicopter near the Pentagon caused go-arounds for two commercial jets.
— It's a big day in court for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's lawsuit over the Trump administration's attempt to end congestion pricing in Manhattan.
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Driving the day
BIG CHANGE: The Justice Department said Friday it had reached an agreement to end its felony case against Boeing for the company's role in the 2018 and 2019 MAX 8 disasters in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which killed 346 people. Oriana and Sam have the story. Under the deal, the plane-maker must spend more than $1.1 billion on fines, safety improvements and compensation for the relatives of those who died. Democratic lawmakers last week assailed the DOJ's shift.
WHAT MUST THE COMPANY 'ADMIT' TO? Under the agreement, the Justice Department will ask a federal judge to dismiss the case — but Boeing will have to 'admit to conspiracy to obstruct and impede' federal regulators. The company declined to comment. DOJ in a statement said: 'Nothing will diminish the victims' losses, but this resolution holds Boeing financially accountable, provides finality and compensation for the families and makes an impact for the safety of future air travelers.'
AWAITING WORD: Judge Reed O'Connor, of the Northern District of Texas, could dismiss the case ahead of a scheduled trial next month. Victims' families filed a petition with the court Friday to oppose that.
Aviation
SERVICE SAYS IT'S OK: An internal Army review found 'no deviations from approved flight paths and no risk of intersecting air traffic' when on May 1 a Black Hawk helicopter flying in Washington airspace forced two commercial jets inbound for Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to perform go-around maneuvers, the military branch said in a statement Friday. (The Army suspended such flights after a wave of concern from lawmakers.)
— The service said the Black Hawk was landing at the Pentagon at the time and carried no passengers, and its location was broadcast via ADS-B Out. The go-arounds, directed by air traffic controllers at Reagan National, were 'out of an apparent abundance of caution,' the Army said. The first of these occurred before the helicopter reached the Pentagon helipad and 'was the result of an issue with sequencing of air traffic' by the airport's tower, according to the Army. The second came during the Black Hawk's 'subsequent traffic pattern and was based on conflicting positional data from legacy tracking systems.'
MORE SPECIFIC: Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman, the Army's aviation chief, in an interview with the AP said that military air traffic controllers lost contact with the Black Hawk for about 20 seconds as it approached the Pentagon 'because a temporary control tower antenna was not set up in a location where it would be able to maintain contact,' the wire service reports. Reagan National controllers aborted the first plane landing as the Black Hawk flew toward the Pentagon because 'both aircraft would be nearing the [building] around the same time, Braman said.' Then, because of the loss of contact, 'the Pentagon's tower did not clear the Black Hawk to land, so the helicopter circled the Pentagon a second time. That's when [Reagan National] controllers ... decided to abort the landing of a second jet' because 'they did not have a confident fix on the Black Hawk's location,' according to the AP, which cited Braman.
GETTING SOME CLARITY: In a call with reporters Friday, United Airlines offered a breakdown of how the FAA's interim order temporarily capping hourly arrival and departure rates at Newark Liberty International Airport compares to current flight operations. The key difference? The airport normally is scheduled to have 77 arrivals and departures per hour, but instead has regularly operated around 83 to 84 per hour (including both domestic and international travel). Many airlines reduced their schedules due to ongoing runway construction that goes until June 15 at Newark. Then, after the radar and communications outages began late last month, United further lowered its number of flights.
— Now, under the FAA's order, both arrivals and departures can't exceed 28 per hour (56 total) until mid-June and on Saturdays from Sept. 1 until the end of the year. They also can't go above 34 per hour (68 total) through Oct. 25, after the daily runway construction wraps up next month. (The lower cap will still apply on Saturdays during this timeframe.)
Automobiles
TAKING IT TO COURT: A federal judge in New York City at 10 a.m. today will hold a hearing on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's pending request for a preliminary injunction that would block DOT from terminating the congestion pricing tolls in Manhattan while a lawsuit continues. (Others are seeking an injunction, as well: the New York DOT, New York City DOT and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority.)
Electric Vehicles
DISMISSIVE: A day after the Government Accountability Office concluded that DOT had violated federal impoundment law by refusing to spend appropriated funds on electric vehicle charging infrastructure, White House budget director Russell Vought on Friday mocked the watchdog's opinion in an X post. 'These are non-events with no consequence. Rearview mirror stuff,' he wrote, after noting that he expects similar GAO findings in the future.
ALL IN THIS TOGETHER? The governors of Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington said Friday they are joining California to form an 'Affordable Clean Cars Coalition' — but avoided any policy commitments, Camille von Kaenel reports. The announcement came after the Senate voted last week to overturn a Biden-era EPA waiver for California's EV mandate, which these states had signed on to. (Some had recently taken steps to roll back their commitments.)
At the Agencies
ICYMI: Democrats on the House Oversight Committee in an X post Friday, referencing a recent Reuters report that a DOGE team has been assigned to review operations at the NTSB, said: 'This is a blatant conflict of interest. Oversight Dems will not allow Musk to weaken the agency that keeps our roads safe and give his company a free pass.' (The independent safety board has probed Tesla crashes.)
The Autobahn
— 'Runway lights not working before fatal San Diego plane crash, NTSB says.' Washington Post.
— 'SpaceX Pushes to Get Starship Rocket Ready for Mars by Next Year.' Wall Street Journal.
— 'Tariffs Add Fuel to Hot Used-Car Sales.' Wall Street Journal.
— 'Daddy's home: Andy Byford to make NYC return for Penn Station remake, White House says.' Gothamist.
— 'Inside United's Command Center at Newark Airport.' New York Times.
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