Boeing to plead guilty to criminal fraud charge over 737 Max crashes

Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge related to the two fatal crashes of its 737 Max jetliners, as announced by the Justice Department. This decision comes after the government found that Boeing had violated an agreement that shielded it from prosecution for over three years. The plea deal focuses on Boeing's misconduct before the crashes that claimed the lives of all 346 passengers and crew members on board the two planes. It does not grant immunity to Boeing for other incidents, such as a panel detaching from a Max jetliner during a flight by Alaska Airlines in January. Federal prosecutors accused Boeing of engaging in a conspiracy to defraud the government by providing misleading information to regulators about a flight-control system implicated in the Indonesia and Ethiopia crashes in 2018. As part of a settlement in January 2021, Boeing was spared prosecution if it met certain conditions for three years and paid a substantial settlement. However, prosecutors alleged last month that Boeing had violated the terms of the agreement, leading to the current guilty plea offer. Despite some relatives of crash victims advocating for a criminal trial to shed light on Boeing's actions, the plea deal only pertains to the corporation itself, not individual executives. The plea deal presented Boeing with the choice of admitting guilt and paying a fine or facing a trial on the felony charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States. The agreement does not cover any current or former Boeing officials, leaving the focus solely on the corporation. Legal experts suggest that a criminal conviction could impact Boeing's federal contracting status. Relatives of the crash victims have been persistent in seeking accountability and transparency from Boeing and its executives, emphasizing the importance of consequences to drive meaningful change within the company and the aviation industry as a whole.