Boeing and the Department of Justice have reached an “agreement in principle” that will keep the airplane manufacturer from facing criminal charges for allegedly misleading regulators about safety features on its 737 Max plane before two separate crashes that killed 346 people. The tentative deal, according to a court filing, will see Boeing pay out $1.1 billion in penalties and safety investments, as well as set aside an additional $444 million for the families of victims involved in the crashes.
Boeing’s payments will include $487.2 million paid as a criminal monetary penalty and $455 million to “strengthen the Company’s compliance, safety, and quality programs.” The company will also promise to “improve the effectiveness of its anti-fraud compliance and ethics program” to hopefully avoid the whole allegedly lying to the government thing. The DOJ is also requiring Boeing’s Board of Directors to meet with the families of victims to “hear directly from them about the impact of the Company’s conduct, as well as the Company’s compliance, safety, and quality programs.”
While the settlement will result in more money being made available to the surviving families of the victims, the resolution is not what some of the relatives were looking for. Paul Cassell, an attorney for some of the families, issued a statement earlier this week when word of the agreement started circulating: “Although the DOJ proposed a fine and financial restitution to the victims’ families, the families that I represent contend that it is more important for Boeing to be held accountable to the flying public.”
The families have objected to the potential of a plea deal for some time. When the DOJ first worked toward finalizing an agreement last year, Cassell said Boeing was getting “sweetheart” treatment. Mark Lindquist, another lawyer who represents victim families, said at the time that the deal “fails to acknowledge that the charged crime of Conspiracy to Defraud caused the death of 346 people. This is a sore spot for victim families who want accountability and acknowledgment.”
The latest deal, which appears likely to move forward, secured more money than the original agreement but still falls short of what some of the families seemed to be hoping for. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice told the Associated Press, “Nothing will diminish the victims’ losses, but this resolution holds Boeing financially accountable, provides finality and compensation for the families and makes an impact for the safety of future air travelers.”
The case against Boeing stemmed from the company’s alleged attempts to conceal potential safety concerns with its 737 Max aircraft during the Federal Aviation Administration’s certification process. The company is accused of failing to disclose that its software system could turn the plane’s nose down without pilot input based on sensor data. Faulty readings from that sensor caused two separate flights to go nose down, and pilots were unable to override it and gain control, ultimately resulting in the planes crashing.
Boeing already reached one settlement with the Department of Justice over the 737 Max crashes, agreeing to pay $2.5 billion to avoid prosecution, but it violated the terms of that settlement, which opened it back up to potential charges.
