Boeing Offered Plea Deal for 737 MAX Crash Victims’ Families, Lawyer Says

WASHINGTON:The U.S. Justice Department is offering Boeing a plea deal that will allow it to avoid trial in two fatal 737 MAX crashes, a lawyer for the victims’ families said Sunday, expressing outrage.

Details of the settlement, which requires Boeing to pay a fine and submit to an outside monitor, were shared with the families during a two-hour presentation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Sunday, said Paul Cassell, a University of Utah law professor who is representing the families.

He said the families will “vigorously oppose” the deal if Boeing ultimately accepts it and it goes before a judge.

Contacted by AFP, Boeing declined to comment.

The New York Times reported more than a week ago that prosecutors were considering such an alternative settlement, known as a deferred prosecution agreement, or DPA, but the Justice Department said it had not yet made a decision.

In May, the DOJ concluded that Boeing could be sued for violating a previous DPA entered into following the two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, which killed 346 people.

As part of the three-year settlement, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle fraud charges related to the certification of the 737 MAX.

But the aviation giant came under new scrutiny earlier this year after a 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing after a fuselage panel exploded in mid-air.

The Jan. 5 incident put Boeing’s manufacturing processes back in the spotlight, prompting scrutiny from regulators and congressional investigations.

Meanwhile, victims’ families have repeatedly called on federal prosecutors to bring Boeing to trial rather than reach another deal.

But prosecutors have also faced pressure not to further harm Boeing, a company seen as critical to the U.S. aircraft industry as well as national security.

In his presentation Sunday, the top U.S. attorney “admitted that there was ‘strong interest’ from the families in going to trial, but he repeatedly said the Justice Department could not prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” Cassell said.

“The families have repeatedly called for a trial and have asked that a jury make that decision,” he said.

Boeing disputed the DOJ’s findings in mid-June, but acknowledged the seriousness of the safety crisis.

CEO Dave Calhoun, who agreed to step down later this year, told a recent congressional hearing that the company was “taking action and making progress.”

Ultimately, it will be up to the Texas federal judge overseeing the case to decide whether the new DPA passes.