The Department of Justice reported Sunday night that Boeing plans to plead guilty to criminal fraud stemming from two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Associated Press report.
Boeing was accused of violating a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice that protected the company from criminal prosecution for more than three years. Under the settlement, Boeing was required to review its compliance practices and submit periodic reports.
“This matter should go to public trial.”
Last week, the Department of Justice offered Boeing a plea deal that would require the company to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the FAA and pay a fine. Boeing said:Was fooledThe department reported that it had informed “the FAA’s Aircraft Assessment Group” of a critical aircraft part called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that affected the Boeing 737 MAX’s flight control system.
Boeing reportedly agreed to the deal and will pay $243.6 million, the same amount the company paid in a previous settlement in 2021 over alleged violations by the Department of Justice. The company will also have to undergo a three-year third-party safety and quality audit.
According to the Department of Justice, the plea agreement only relates to Boeing’s actions before the two fatal crashes and does not provide immunity from liability for subsequent incidents, such as the door panel exploding during an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this year. Moreover, the plea agreement only covers Boeing and does not include current or former executives.
The 2021 settlement was set to expire two days after the Alaska Airlines crash, which saw a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board say the plane likely left a Boeing factory without key bolts needed to secure panels in place.
Boeing is expected to plead guilty in US District Court in Texas, where the judge presiding over the case has accused the company of “egregious criminal conduct.”
“We can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle with the Department of Justice on the terms of a settlement, subject to recording and approval of specific terms,” Boeing said in a recent statement.
The families of the victims in both fatal crashes were briefed last week on the plea deals the Justice Department offered to Boeing. At the time, attorney Paul Cassell, who represents the families, said they planned to ask the judge to reject the “sweet plea deals.” Blaze News Reported previously.
Casel stated He will ask the judge to “just have a public trial so that all the facts surrounding the case can be laid out fairly and publicly before the jury.”
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