Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to criminal fraud for two 737 Max accidents, which occurred in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018-2019, which caused the death of 346 people. The admission of guilt is the result of a plea bargain with the Department of Justice (Doj), which also requires the approval of a federal judge and which also requires the airline to pay a fine of 243 million dollars. The fine established by US prosecutors would amount to 487,2 million dollars, the maximum allowed by law, but in 2021 Boeing has already paid fines which bring the total down to 243 million.
The agreement between Boeing and the Department of Justice
“We have reached an agreement in principle on the terms of a resolution with the Department of Justice,” the company said in a statement sent to Agence France-Press (AFP), adding that the agreement is subject to “the approval of specific terms ”. The settlement comes after the Justice Department found that Boeing has violated a previous 2021 agreement, which had protected it from criminal prosecution for those same 737 Max accidents. In particular, it turned out that Boeing did not comply with a requirement of the agreement that provided for theimplementation of a program security to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws.
With the new agreement the company, can avoid criminal prosecution. An important point for Boeing since, with a serious crime conviction, the company would have had problems awarding government contracts which, in 2023, accounted for 37% of Boeing's revenue.
The agreement reached with the prosecutors also establishes that in the next three years the company is placed in “probation” and spend at least 455 million for improve programs compliance and safety. An independent monitor, chosen by the DOJ, will review Boeing's safety practices, and the company's board of directors will meet with victims' families as part of the settlement.
Long series of accidents: the last one in April
Boeing's 737 planes have caused a long series of accidents, including one turnaround in the top management of the company, while the stock on the stock exchange has lost 19% in the last six months.
The latest accident dates back to last April: a Southwest Airlines flight 3695 was taking off fromDenver airport directed to Huston (USA) with 130 passengers on board when the right engine cover of the Boeing 737-800 it opened and a piece flew away, damaging, as it turns out, the wing flaps. The incident was filmed by the passengers themselves. The Boeing 737 returned to the departure airport where the plane landed without problems and the passengers were boarded on another aircraft.
A January the panel installed in place of a door on a Boeing 737 Max of theAlaska Airlines it had come loose during the flight. Last February a Boeing 757-200 had suffered problems with a wing that was seriously damaged during a flight. And of March the viral video of a tire coming off a United Airlines Boeing 777 in San Francisco, ending up in a parking lot and damaging some cars. Always at March, another United Airlines Boeing departing from San Francisco to Paris was diverted to Denver due to an engine problem.
