Boeing is expected to be fined nearly $25 billion and face criminal charges for two fatal 737 MAX 8 crashes, according to relatives of some of the 346 victims who argue the company is guilty of “the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history ”.
The appeal was revealed in a letter to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), a month after it was opened a case accusing the planemaker of violating its obligations under a 2021 agreement that protected Boeing from criminal prosecution.
Then, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to resolve the investigation into its conduct, compensate victims’ families and review its compliance practices following the 2018 and 2019 accidents.
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The terms of that agreement – known as a deferred prosecution agreement – were set to expire in January of this year, but two days earlier, a Boeing 737MAX 9 aircraft operated by Alaska Airlines suffered a panel explosion in the air.
The incident was the subject of investigations by multiple agencies, including the DoJ.
Boeing denied last week that it violated the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement through its production practices before the Alaska Airlines MAX 9 crash.
The MAX 8 fleet was removed from service for 20 months after Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 disaster outside Addis Ababa in March 2019.
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All 157 on board died.
Six months earlier, a Leo Air The 737 MAX 8, carrying 189 passengers and crew, crashed in Indonesia.
Poorly designed flight control software was to blame for both accidents.
The families of those killed are among the parties the Justice Department is speaking to before making a formal decision on the case by July 7.
Relatives want the Texas court to reject the deferred prosecution agreement.
Paul Cassel, an attorney representing 15 families, wrote in a letter to the DoJ: “As the Boeing crime is the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history, a maximum fine of more than $24 billion is legally justified and clearly appropriate. .
He added that part of the financial penalty could be lifted as long as Boeing made several commitments regarding safety and scrutiny.
The May court case also exposes Boeing to possible new criminal prosecution.
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News of the new Justice Department case, which could potentially require more financial sanctions and tougher oversight, has poured even more fuel into the corporate crisis that has engulfed Boeing this year since the January explosion.
A broad management change will see both the chief executive and chairman leave.
Regulatory action against the company resulted in the imposition of production limits on its factories, harming not only Boeing’s profits through its pursuit of quality, but also its customers’ expansion plans.
Ryanair is among those to complain about the impact on its schedules and results due to delayed deliveries.
Boeing’s share price has lost a third of its value year-to-date.
Chief Executive Dave Calhoun, who is expected to step down at the end of the year, defended the company’s safety record during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, repeatedly denying claims that Boeing put profits above safety.
He told relatives of those who lost loved ones in the MAX crashes, some of whom were in the room, that he was sorry “for the pain we caused.”
The hearing coincided with the release of a new whistleblower report that included allegations that defective parts could be being used on 737 variant aircraft.
Sam Mohawk, a quality assurance investigator at an assembly plant near Seattle, also claimed that Boeing hid evidence after the industry regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, told the company it planned to inspect the factory in June 2023.
“As soon as Boeing received such notification, it ordered most of the (nonconforming) parts that were being stored outside to be moved to another location,” Mohawk said, according to the report.
“Approximately 80% of the parts were moved to avoid the watchful eye of FAA inspectors.”
The parts were said to include rudders and wing flaps.
Boeing said it continues to review its allegations.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
