Boeing finalizes plea deal with DOJ over misleading FAA during 737 MAX evaluation

(NEW YORK) — The Department of Justice and Boeing have finalized their plea agreement — the manufacturer will plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay a fine of $243.6 million, according to a court filing.

Boeing will also serve a three-year term of organizational probation; invest $455 million in compliance, quality and safety programs; and the board of directors will meet with the families of victims of the two MAX crashes. An independent compliance monitor will also be appointed.

This is not a done deal until it is approved by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas, who can either approve the deal or reject it.

According to court documents, “the plea agreement will not provide Boeing with immunity for any other conduct, including any conduct that may be the subject of any ongoing or future Government investigation of the Company.”

In a statement, Boeing said, “Boeing and the Justice Department have filed a detailed plea agreement in federal court, which is subject to court approval. We will continue to work transparently with our regulators as we take significant actions across Boeing to further strengthen our safety, quality and compliance programs.”

Lawyers representing the families of MAX crash victims have voiced their displeasure to ABC News.

Paul Cassell, who represents 15 MAX crash victim families, said: “The proposed plea has all the problems in it that the families feared it would have. We will file a strong objection to the preferential and “sweetheart” treatment Boeing is receiving within seven days with Judge O’Connor. We will strongly urge him to reject this proposed plea.”

Mark Lindquist, who also represents victim families, said: “Most importantly this plea agreement fails to acknowledge that the charged crime of Conspiracy to Defraud caused the death of 346 people. This is a sore spot for victim families who want accountability and acknowledgment.”

Boeing was accused of misleading the Federal Aviation Administration about aspects of the Max before the agency certified the plane for flight. Boeing did not 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 reading from the sensor pushed the nose down and pilots were unable to regain control. After the second crash, Max jets were grounded worldwide until the company redesigned MCAS to make it less powerful and to use signals from two sensors, not just one.