Boeing pleads guilty in US investigation into fatal 737 MAX crashes

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Boeing will plead guilty in connection with two fatal crashes of 737 Max aircraft, the US Department of Justice announced on Sunday evening.

This news came after the government found that the company had violated an agreement that had protected it from prosecution for more than three years.

Federal prosecutors this week gave Boeing the choice of either pleading guilty and paying a fine as part of its sentence or facing trial on criminal charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Prosecutors accused the American aerospace giant of deceiving regulators who approved the aircraft and pilot training requirements.

Federal prosecutors accuse Boeing of conspiring to defraud the government by misleading regulators about a flight control system linked to plane crashes that occurred in Indonesia in October 2018 and in Ethiopia less than five months later.

The deal, which still needs to be approved by a federal judge to take effect, calls for Boeing to pay an additional $243.6 million in fines – the same amount Boeing paid under the 2021 settlement that the Justice Department says the company breached – and requires an independent auditor to monitor Boeing’s safety and quality procedures for three years.

The settlement covers only Boeing’s misconduct before the crashes that killed all 346 passengers and crew aboard the two new Max jets. It does not grant Boeing immunity for other incidents, including a panel that ripped off a Max jetliner during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, a Justice Department official said.

The deal does not affect any current or former Boeing employees, but only the company.

As part of the January 2021 settlement, the Justice Department said it would not prosecute Boeing on the charges if the company complied with certain terms for three years. Prosecutors alleged last month that Boeing violated the terms of that agreement.

The company’s guilty plea will be heard in U.S. District Court in Texas. The judge overseeing the case, who has criticized what he called Boeing’s “egregious criminal conduct,” could accept the guilty plea and the sentence that comes with it, or he could reject the agreement, which would likely lead to new negotiations between the Justice Department and Boeing.

The relatives of those killed in the accident were informed of the settlement offer a week ago and stated at the time that they would ask the judge to reject it.

U.S. authorities can use a criminal conviction as grounds to bar companies from doing business with the government for a certain period of time. Boeing is a major contractor to the Department of Defense and NASA.