DOJ is expected to agree in writing with Boeing by next weekend.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has concluded a contract with Boeing in principle, allowing it to avoid prosecution in a fraud case resulting from crashing of two deadly 737 largest planes that killed 346 people.
Boeing will pay more than $1.1 billion, including fines and compensation for families, as well as more than $455 million to strengthen the company’s compliance, safety and quality programs, DOJ said Friday.
The aircraft manufacturer also agreed to pay an additional $444.5 million to the crash victims fund, which is split evenly for each crash victim, in addition to the $243.6 million fine.
“Boeing must continue to improve the effectiveness of its anti-foed compliance and ethics programme and maintain an independent compliance consultant,” the DOJ said Friday. “We believe this solution is the most legitimate result with practical benefits.”
The agreement will keep Boeing from branding the convicted felons, losing relatives in crashes, and a blow to the families who have forced prosecutors to bring US planners to trial. The family and the lawyers for the two U.S. Senators had urged the DOJ not to abandon the prosecution, but the government quickly refused the request.
DOJ is expected to file a written agreement with Boeing by the end of next week. Boeing will no longer face independent monitor surveillance under contract.
Boeing did not immediately comment.
There are no more guilty pleas
On May 16, Boeing reached a temporary non-projection agreement with the government, as originally reported by news agency Reuters.
This agreement will prevent the date of trial on June 23rd. Plainmakers face misconceptions with US regulators about its bestselling jet, the 737 Max’s critical flight control system.
Boeing in July agreed to plead guilty to criminal fraud conspiracy charges after two fatal 737 crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019 paid fines of up to 487.2m and faced three years of independent surveillance.
Boeing will no longer plead guilty, prosecutors told the families of crash victims during a meeting last week.
The prosecutor told his family.
“Boeing crimes could be considered the deadliest corporate crime in US history,” Texas Judge Reed O’Connor said in 2023.
Boeing has faced increased scrutiny from the Federal Aviation Administration since January 2024, when the new Max 9 lost four key bolts, which lost four door plugs. The FAA produces 38 aircraft per month.
Last year, DOJ officials discovered that Boeing had violated the 2021 agreement and reached the final day of the first Trump administration, which protected the plain makers from crash prosecution.
That conclusion followed the January 2024 flight emergency during Alaska Airlines flight. As a result, DOJ officials have decided to resume the 2018-19 fatal crash case and negotiate a judicial agreement with Boeing.