Boeing secures new legal settlement over fatal MAX crashes | Business News

Boeing has secured a new plea deal to resolve a new U.S. criminal investigation linked to two fatal 737 MAX crashes, which will see the planemaker admit to a fraud charge.

A US Department of Justice (DoJ) official revealed overnight that Boeing it would pay a fine of £243.6m (£190.1m) and invest at least $455m over three years to strengthen its security and compliance programs as part of the settlement.

The settlement, which Boeing has not yet commented on, marks the second time the department has offered Boeing a legal settlement related to the 2018 and 2019 crashes attributed to flaws in flight control software.

A total of 346 people died in incidents involving a Leo Air MAX 8 flight in Indonesia and six months later Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 outside Addis Ababa.

Relatives of the dead, who accused US authorities of letting Boeing off the hook through a $2.5 billion deal in 2021, had last month demanded a new fine of almost US$25 billion (£19.7 billion).

They also requested the initiation of criminal proceedings.

The new deal with the DoJ, which was described by a lawyer for the families as a “sweetheart deal,” will ensure there will be no trial.

Authorities filed a case in May that accused the planemaker of violating terms of the 2021 deferred prosecution agreement.

The terms of this agreement were due to expire in January of this year, but, two days before, a Boeing 737MAX 9 aircraft operated by Alaska Airlines suffered a panel explosion in the air.

The incident has been the subject of investigations by multiple agencies, including the DoJ, since then.

Boeing has denied violating the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement through its production practices before the Alaska Airlines MAX 9 crash.

While the guilty plea to a conspiracy to defraud charge and the sums to be paid under the latest agreement is a blow to the families, the terms have not yet been ratified in court.

The deal also potentially threatens Boeing’s ability to secure lucrative government contracts.

The settlement only covers Boeing’s conduct before the fatal crashes and does not protect the company from any other investigations or potential charges related to the January incident or other conduct.

Boeing is pleading guilty to making deliberately false statements to the Federal Aviation Administration about expanding a key software feature used in the MAX to operate at low speeds.

The new software saved Boeing money by requiring less intensive training for pilots.

The company has always denied putting profits before safety.