Boeing Receives Court Settlement Offer to Avoid 737 Crash Trial

Washington:

The US Justice Department is offering Boeing a plea deal that will allow it to avoid a trial related to two deadly 737 MAX crashes, a lawyer for the victims’ families said on Sunday, expressing outrage.

Details of the settlement, which requires Boeing to pay a fine and submit to an outside oversight, were provided to families in a two-hour presentation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Sunday, said Paul Cassell, an attorney at the University of Utah. . teacher who represents families.

He said the families will “vehemently oppose” the settlement 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 eyeing such an alternative agreement, known as a deferred prosecution agreement, or DPA, but the DOJ said it had not yet made a decision.

In May, the DOJ concluded that Boeing could be sued for violating a previous DPA reached after the two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives.

Under that three-year settlement, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle fraud allegations related to the certification of the 737 MAX.

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

The Jan. 5 incident brought Boeing’s manufacturing processes back into the spotlight, leading to scrutiny from regulators and congressional investigations.

Meanwhile, victims’ families have repeatedly urged federal prosecutors to take Boeing to court rather than reach another deal.

But prosecutors also faced pressure not to do more harm to Boeing, a company considered critical to the U.S. aviation industry as well as national security.

In his presentation Sunday, the top U.S. attorney “admitted that there is ‘a strong interest’ on the part of families in going to trial, but said repeatedly that the DOJ could not prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” Cassell said.

“The families argued repeatedly for a trial and to allow a jury to make that decision,” he said.

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

CEO Dave Calhoun, who agreed to step down at the end of the year, said at a recent congressional hearing that the company is “taking action and making progress.”

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

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