The Justice Department submitted an agreement with Boeing on Wednesday in which the aerospace giant will plead guilty to a fraud charge for misleading US regulators who approved the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people. The detailed plea agreement was filed in federal district court in Texas. The deal states Boeing admitted that, through its employees, it made an agreement "by dishonest means" to defraud a Federal Aviation Administration group that evaluated the 737 Max. Because of Boeing's deception, the FAA had "incomplete and inaccurate information" about the plane's flight-control software and how much training pilots would need for it, per the AP.
Boeing didn't tell airlines and pilots about the new software system, called MCAS, that could turn the plane's nose down without input from pilots if a sensor detected that the plane might go into an aerodynamic stall. Max planes crashed in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia after a faulty sensor reading pushed the nose down and pilots couldn't regain control. After the second crash, Max jets were grounded worldwide until the company redesigned MCAS. US District Judge Reed O'Connor can accept the deal and the sentence worked out between Boeing and prosecutors, or he could reject it, which likely would lead to new negotiations.
The deal calls for the appointment of an independent compliance monitor, three years of probation, and a fine of at least $243.6 million. It also requires Boeing to invest at least $455 million "in its compliance, quality, and safety programs." Paul Cassell, a lawyer for victims' families who wanted Boeing to face trial, criticized the agreement. "The plea has all the problems in it that the families feared it would have," he said. "We will file a strong objection to the preferential and sweetheart treatment Boeing is receiving." O'Connor will give lawyers for the families seven days to file legal motions opposing the plea deal. More here.
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