US Department of Justice finalizes plea deal with Boeing
Boeing agreed to pay a fine of $243.6 million as part of its plea agreement and admitted it defrauded the Federal Aviation Administration when seeking permission for the troubled 737 Max plane to carry passengers. The plea deal is subject to approval of a federal judge.
“We will continue to work transparently with our regulators as we take significant actions across Boeing to further strengthen our safety, quality and compliance programs,” Boeing said in a statement.
Boeing agreed to plead guilty two weeks ago to one charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States for its role in two fatal 737 Max crashes, in an agreement that many critics of Boeing – including crash victims’ families – slammed as a sweetheart deal.
However, one additional condition detailed in a new filing on Wednesday is that Boeing’s board of directors will have to hold a meeting with victim families and their legal representatives within four months of the sentencing date.
Boeing will also have to invest at least $455 million into its compliance, quality and safety programs, the agreement states.
Boeing is to pay up to $487 million in fines — a fraction of the $24.8 billion that families of crash victims wanted the aircraft maker to pay. It had already paid half the fine as part of the original plea deal in 2021. The families of victims of two fatal crashes of the 737 Max oppose the deal, the Justice Department said.
The guilty plea and subsequent terms further hurt Boeing’s reputation. The company has faced a series of questions about the safety and quality of its planes, beginning with the fatal crashes of the 737 Max jets. And in January, a door plug on a 737 Max flown by Alaska Airlines blew out early in a flight, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the jet.
The guilty plea and subsequent fine are seen as a part of Boeing's ongoing efforts to enhance its safety, quality, and compliance programs, as mentioned in their statement. Despite this, many critics, including families of the 737 Max crash victims, view the plea deal as lenient.
