The Justice Department is preparing to propose a plea deal that would require Boeing to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration in connection with two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Reuters report.
The Justice Department is alleging that Boeing violated a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement with the department, sources told the news outlet. As part of the agreement, criminal charges against Boeing were dropped and the company was required to review its compliance practices and submit regular reports. The aerospace company also agreed to pay $2.5 billion to end the investigation.
The Justice Department in May accused Boeing of violating the terms of the agreement, saying it “failed to design, implement and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws throughout its business activities.”
Boeing disputed the Justice Department’s findings and maintained that it “honored the terms” of the agreement.
Families of those killed in both crashes were briefed on the settlements on Sunday. Their lawyers said they told U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor:lover“The Boeing deal”
“The Department of Justice is preparing to offer Boeing another favorable plea deal,” said Paul Cassell, an attorney representing the families.
“The family will vigorously oppose this plea agreement,” Cassell noted.
The plea deal requires Boeing to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the FAA. Boeing must pay half of the $487.2 million fine and allow prosecutors to credit the company for previous settlement payments. Boeing must also meet with victims’ families and submit to a three-year third-party audit.
Reuters reported that Boeing and the Justice Department declined requests for comment.
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Boeing faced further scrutiny after a door panel ruptured during flight on one of its planes in January. A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board found that an Alaska Airlines plane may have left a Boeing factory without a key bolt needed to secure the panel in place. The NTSB investigation found that Spirit AeroSystems, the plane’s manufacturer, had performed maintenance work on the plane before delivering it to the airline. The maintenance required the removal and reinstallation of the door panel.
Boeing said on Monday buy back The company is buying former subsidiary Spirit AeroSystems, which it says is looking to improve the struggling airline’s safety and quality controls. Boeing agreed to pay $37.25 a share, or $4.7 billion, for the deal.
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