CHICAGO (dpa-AFX) - Boeing Co. has agreed with the Department of Justice to
plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge in connection with two 737 Max crashes
in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people in total. With the agreement,
the company will be able to avoid a criminal trial over the crashes, which so
far have caused the aerospace and defence major billions in claims and in
penalties.

In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Texas, the Government said Boeing
would pay a $487.2 million as maximum criminal fine for the charged offense.

Boeing will also make a sustained monetary investment in its compliance and
safety programs, specifically at least around $455 million over the term of
probation, which will run longer than three years.

The parties have agreed in principle to the material terms of a plea agreement
that would, among other things, hold Boeing accountable for its material
misstatements to the Federal Aviation Administration, require the firm to pay
the statutory maximum fine, and impose an independent compliance monitor for
three years. It will also allow the Court to determine the restitution amount
for the families in its discretion, consistent with applicable law.

The Government stated that Boeing will not be charged with any other criminal
offense related to the conduct.

Boeing and DOJ expect to file written plea agreement with the Court by no later
than July 19. Meanwhile, the families of the victims of the Lion Air Flight 610
and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 airplane crashes intend to oppose the plea
agreement and have requested an opportunity to brief their opposition, the
Government noted.

In March 2019, 737 MAX, which was then the world's biggest-selling aircraft, was
grounded worldwide following the two crashes within just six months, which
together claimed 346 lives.

Boeing reportedly paid more than $2.5 billion in 2021 to settle criminal charges
related to a conspiracy to defraud the FAA related to its 737 MAX investigation.

Meanwhile, the DOJ in May this year alleged that the company had breached the
terms of the 2021 agreement that allowed the aircraft maker to avoid criminal
prosecution.

The news comes as Boeing is under severe scrutiny over recent safety issues. In
April, the FAA announced an investigation into the emergency landing by
Southwest Airlines' Boeing 737-800 flight after its engine cover fell off and
struck the wing flap during take-off.

Earlier, in January, a mid-cabin door plug on Alaska Airlines' Boeing 737-9 MAX
airplane blew out in the middle of the flight.

Following the Alaska incident, the FAA grounded around 171 737 MAX 9 airplanes
for inspections for several weeks, and also started a probe into Boeing's
manufacturing practices and production lines, including those involving
subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems. The Justice Department had also initiated a
criminal investigation into the MAX 9 incident.

In early March, the FAA announced that its production audit of Boeing and Spirit
AeroSystems identified multiple quality control lapses, and halted production
expansion of the Boeing 737 MAX.



Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX