Court documents released on Friday show that the justice department has reached an agreement with Boeing allowing the aircraft behemoth to evade criminal prosecution for allegedly deceiving US authorities about the 737 Max jetliner prior to two of the planes crashed and claimed 346 deaths.
Boeing would pay and invest more than $1.1 billion under the “agreement in principle,” which still has to be formalized, including an extra $445 million for the relatives of crash victims, the justice department said. The department would discount the fraud allegation in the criminal prosecution against the aircraft producer in exchange.
A justice department spokesman stated in a statement, ” Ultimately, in applying the facts, the law, and Department policy, we are confident that this resolution is the most just outcome with practical benefits.”
Boeing was accused of deceiving the Federal Aviation Authority on features of the Max prior to aircraft certification for flight. Boeing did not inform pilots and airlines about a new software system called MCAS, which may cause the nose of the aircraft to drop without pilot input should a sensor identify that the plane might enter an aerodynamic stall.
After a malfunctioning sensor forced the nose down, the Max planes crashed and pilots were unable to recover control. Max planes were grounded globally following the second crash until the manufacturer updated MCAS to use inputs from two sensors rather than just one and to reduce power level.
By settling $2.5 billion with the justice department including a past $243.6 million punishment, Boeing avoided legal action in 2021.
Prosecutors claimed Boeing broke the conditions of the 2021 agreement a year ago by neglecting planned modifications meant to identify and stop federal anti-fraud law infractions. Last July, Boeing agreed to enter a guilty plea to the felony fraud allegation instead of going through a perhaps protracted public trial.
However, US district judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth turned down the plea bargain in December. The judge noted the government’s and Boeing’s diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) programs would cause race to influence the choice of a monitor to supervise Boeing’s agreement compliance.
