Boeing agrees to plead guilty in 737 MAX criminal case that caused 346 deaths

Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to deceiving the US regulators air safety before the two accidents that occurred in 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia due to design flaws in its 737 MAX model, in which 346 people died.

The world’s largest aerospace company has reached an agreement with the Justice Department American that involves pleading guilty to fraud in the certification of the planes, according to details by the American authorities in a court filing. The agreement still has to be approved by a federal judge.

The agreement, which would allow the company to avoid going to trial, entails a second criminal fine of US$244 million and requires the company to spend US$455 million over the next three years to improve its compliance and safety programs, amounts much lower than the US$24.8 billion that the families of the victims were claiming from the aircraft manufacturer.

In a statement, Boeing has limited itself to confirming that it had achieved “an agreement in principle on the terms of a resolution with the Department of Justice, subject to approval of specific terms”.

This case stems from two accidents involving two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in Indonesia and Ethiopia with a separation between them of five months in which a total of 346 people died.

If finally approved, the agreement will prevent the company from having to submit to a trial that could cause it even greater wear and tear and could therefore help it in its objective of turning the page on the incidents with its 737 MAX.

On June 30, the Department of Justice offered Boeing this agreement and gave it until the end of last week to accept it or face trial for conspiracy to defraud the company. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in relation to a key software function linked to the accidents in question.

Rejection and disappointment

The victims’ families asked the court to reject the agreement at an upcoming hearing, arguing that this ““unfairly makes concessions to Boeing that other defendants would never receive.”

According to court documents filed in Texas on Sunday, the company agreed to plead guilty to “conspiracy to defraud the United States“during the certification of the MAX aircraft.

Boeing will be fined under the agreement and will have to invest a minimum of US$455 million in “compliance and security programs”.

Compensation to the victims’ families will be determined by the court.

The DoJ found in May that the company ignored a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) by failing to comply with requirements to improve its ethics and compliance programs after the accidents.

Families of the victims declared themselves “very disappointed“because of the agreement between Boeing and the DOJ, said a lawyer from the firm Clifford Law, which represents them.

“Over the past five years, much more evidence has emerged showing that Boeing’s culture of putting profit over safety has not changed. This plea agreement only furthers that corporate goal.“, attorney Robert A. Clifford said in a statement.

The original deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) was announced in January 2021, on charges that Boeing knowingly defrauded the Federal Aviation Administration during the certification of the MAX.

The deal called for Boeing to pay $2.5 billion in fines and restitution in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

The three-year trial period was due to expire this year. But in January, Boeing was again in crisis when a plane crashed 737 MAX Alaska Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing after a fuselage panel burst mid-flight.

In a letter sent on May 14 to the US court, DoJ officials stated that Boeing breached its obligations under the DPA by “failure to design, implement and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws across all of its operations.”

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