Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud safety regulators regarding the 737 Max 8’s development, thus avoiding a criminal trial over two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. This development was disclosed in a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) court filing late Sunday.
Boeing DOJ 737 Max Deal: Details of the Plea Agreement
The DOJ informed U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, about an agreement in principle on a plea deal with Boeing. Under this deal, Boeing will pay an additional $243.6 million criminal fine, invest at least $455 million to enhance its compliance and safety programs, and be subject to a three-year independent compliance monitor. This plea deal stems from a January 2021 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), and Boeing will not face any other criminal charges related to the conduct described in the DPA. However, the DOJ noted that this agreement does not provide immunity for any other potential government investigations into Boeing.
Background of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement
The 2021 DPA was intended to conclude the DOJ’s investigation into allegations that Boeing employees downplayed the 737 Max 8’s new features to persuade the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to require less-rigorous training for pilots, thereby expediting the aircraft’s market entry. The DOJ told Judge O’Connor in May that Boeing breached its obligations under the DPA by failing to establish an effective compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect fraud.
