A federal judge has decided against immediately approving a request by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to dismiss its criminal case against Boeing.
Instead, judge Reed O’Connor of US District Court for the Northern District of Texas has given relatives of people killed in two 737 Max crashes an opportunity to respond to a non-prosecution agreement proposed by the DOJ, according to a 29 May court order.
O’Connor’s order responds to a DOJ request, also filed on 29 May, to dismiss the criminal trial against Boeing in lieu of the non-prosecution agreement. If approved by the judge, the deal would require Boeing pay $1.1 billion in fines, victim compensation and investments in compliance and safety, according to court filings.
Judge O’Connor has instead given the DOJ and attorneys for crash victims’ families until 4 June to present the court with a “briefing schedule” – a document setting deadlines by which victims’ attorneys will respond to the DOJ’s proposal.
According to a person familiar with the matter, the DOJ already suggested that victims’ attorneys have 14 days to respond to the proposed non-prosecution deal, and that the DOJ then have seven days to file a rebuttal. Victims’ attorneys are likely to negotiate with the DOJ for more time, this person says.
News broke this month that the DOJ was considering avoiding a trial by settling the case against Boeing, prompting vocal opposition from victims’ attorneys.
They say Boeing already admitted guilt and that any agreement must make clear that Boeing’s actions resulted in the deaths of people aboard two crashed 737 Max 8s – a Lion Air jet that went down in October 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines that crashed in March 2019.
In its 29 May motion to dismiss the trial, the DOJ says, “The government has decided not to proceed to trial because the parties have reached a non-prosecution agreement that secures meaningful accountability, delivers substantial and immediate public benefits, and brings finality to a difficult and complex case whose outcome would otherwise be uncertain”.
The DOJ made the offer to Boeing on 23 May and the company and government signed the deal on 29 May, court filings say.
The proposed non-prosecution agreement would require Boeing to “admit to conspiracy to obstruct and impede the lawful operation of the” FAA and to pay $1.1 billion.
That amount includes a fresh $243.6 million criminal fine, $444.5 million paid into a “crash-victim beneficiaries trust” and $455 million in investments “to strengthen the company’s compliance, safety and quality problems”.
Those amounts are in addition to a $243.6 million criminal fine, and $500 million for crash victims’ families, that Boeing already paid as part of a previous deferred prosecution agreement.
The new deal would also require that Boeing retain an “independent compliance monitor” and that its board of directors meet directly with crash victims’ families.
The non-prosecution agreement “is in the public interest” because it would provide “tangible and significant benefits to the public immediately that further prosecution may not provide”, the DOJ writes.
“Boeing is committed to complying with its obligations under this resolution, which include a substantial additional fine and commitments to further institutional improvements and investments,” the company says. ”The resolution also provides for substantial additional compensation for the families of those lost in the Lion Air flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 accidents.”
“We are deeply sorry for their losses, and remain committed to honouring their loved ones’ memories by pressing forward with the broad and deep changes to our company that we have made to strengthen our safety system and culture,” Boeing adds.
The DOJ slapped Boeing with the fraud charges in 2021, alleging that the company misled the FAA during the 737 Max’s certification, including by failing to inform the agency about aspects of the jet’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System. That system put the two 737 Max 8s into dives from which the pilots could not recover.
But last year the DOJ said Boeing violated the deferred prosecution agreement, citing quality shortcomings that led to the in-flight failure of a 737 Max 9’s mid-cabin door plug in January of that year.
As a result, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to the charges under a plea deal that the judge later rejected due to terms related to a compliance monitoring programme.
Story updated on 30 May to include comments from Boeing.
