Boeing to Plead Guilty in DOJ 737 Max Crash Cases

Federal prosecutors had given the company a choice of entering a guilty plea and paying a fine or facing trial on the felony charge of conspiracy to defraud the U.S.

Meg Godlewski

Monday, July 08, 2024 at 03:48 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Kimberly Johnson

Boeing is testifying at a two-day NTSB hearing in Washington, D.C. [Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge with the Department of Justice, acknowledging it misled the FAA regarding the 737 Max's MCAS system, which contributed to two fatal crashes.
This agreement follows the DOJ's determination that Boeing breached a previous prosecution agreement, with recent incidents like the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout highlighting persistent safety and quality control issues.
The plea deal mandates an additional $243.6 million fine and a $455 million investment in safety and compliance programs, though victim families and attorneys criticize the terms as insufficient for true accountability and reform.

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Boeing has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) over the company’s actions following two 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people and sparked the grounding of the 737 line for more than a year.

According to the DOJ, Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge after the government determined the aerospace manufacturer had violated an agreement that protected it from prosecution.