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.
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.
“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.
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.”
The DOJ filing called the accord “a fair and just resolution that serves the public interest.”
Boeing declined to comment when contacted by AFP.
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 leadership shakeups at the aviation giant.
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.
But in December, federal judge Reed O'Connor rejected a settlement codifying the guilty plea, setting the stage for the incoming Trump administration to decide the next steps.
But this acknowledgment “doesn’t carry any criminal penalties,“ said Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who held hearings into Boeing’s problems in 2024, condemned the agreement as an “outrageous injustice” to victims and the public.
“After repeatedly rebuffing responsibility and lying, Boeing will now permanently escape accountability,“ Blumenthal said. “Victims, families, and the flying public deserve better. They deserve justice, not this sham.”
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