United States: Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to fraud after US prosecutors determined the company violated a deferred prosecution agreement related to two fatal crashes involving the 737 Max jetliner.
Following the plea agreement submitted on Wednesday to a federal court in Texas, Boeing will have to pay a $243.6 million fine for deceiving aviation authorities on software that contributed to 346 fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.
The company, which earlier this month agreed to enter a guilty plea in principle, would also have to spend $455 million on compliance safety programs and hire an independent compliance monitor for the duration of its three-year “organizational probation.”
US District Judge Reed O’Connor must approve the accord. Attorneys representing the crash victims’ families will have seven days to submit objections.
“Boeing and the Justice Department have filed a detailed plea agreement in federal court, which is subject to court approval,” Boeing said in a statement.
“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,” the company added.
The deal follows the US Department of Justice’s announcement in May that the aircraft giant had broken its agreement to stay out of jail time by neglecting to enhance its compliance and ethics program.
Boeing received immunity from criminal prosecution in 2021 in exchange for paying $2.5 billion in fines and restitution.
The Justice Department claimed in a court filing that Boeing had broken the terms of the contract by neglecting to maintain accurate records and by ignoring potentially dangerous work practices.
The families of the crash victims have objected to the plea deal, claiming that leaders from the firm, both past and present, should face criminal charges and that Boeing should receive a heavier sentence.
A separate probe into Boeing is presently underway in connection with the March midair disaster of a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines.
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