Latest news with #CrashVictims
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
US judge cancels planned Boeing trial over 737 crashes
Boeing will contribute US$444.5 million to support crash victims and invest US$455 million to improve compliance, safety, and quality programmes. (EPA Images pic) NEW YORK : A US federal judge on Monday cancelled the planned trial of US aviation giant Boeing over crashes of its 737 MAX aircraft that left nearly 350 people dead. The trial had been scheduled to begin June 23, but the justice department and Boeing reached a preliminary agreement last month to settle the long-running criminal probe into the accidents. US District judge Reed O'Connor granted the request of both parties to vacate the trial date and cancelled the criminal trial which had been scheduled to be held in Fort Worth, Texas. But the judge still must give his final approval to the settlement and he could reschedule a trial if he fails to give the deal his green light. Under the agreement, which has drawn condemnation from some families of crash victims, Boeing will pay US$1.1 billion and the justice department will dismiss a criminal charge over the company's conduct in the certification of the MAX. The agreement resolves the case without requiring Boeing to plead guilty to fraud in the certification of the MAX, which was involved in two crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives – a Lion Air plane and an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft. The justice department described it as 'a fair and just resolution that serves the public interest.' 'The agreement guarantees further accountability and substantial benefits from Boeing immediately, while avoiding the uncertainty and litigation risk presented by proceeding to trial,' it said. Family members of some MAX victims slammed the proposed settlement, however, as a giveaway to Boeing. 'This kind of non-prosecution deal is unprecedented and obviously wrong for the deadliest corporate crime in US history,' Paul Cassell, an attorney representing relatives of victims, said when the settlement was announced. The justice department cited other family members who expressed a desire for closure, quoting one who said 'the grief resurfaces every time this case is discussed in court or other forums.' The preliminary agreement was the latest development in a marathon case that came in the wake of crashes that tarnished Boeing's reputation and contributed to leadership shakeups at the aviation giant. The case dates to a January 2021 justice department agreement with Boeing that settled charges that the company knowingly defrauded the federal aviation administration during the MAX certification. The 2021 accord included a three-year probation period. But in May 2024, the justice department determined that Boeing had violated the 2021 accord following a number of subsequent safety lapses. Boeing agreed in July 2024 to plead guilty to 'conspiracy to defraud the United States.' But in December, Judge O'Connor rejected a settlement codifying the guilty plea, setting the stage for the incoming Trump administration to decide the next steps. The deal announced in May requires Boeing to pay a fine of US$487.2 million with credit for a US$243 million penalty the company paid previously under the January 2021 agreement. Boeing will contribute US$444.5 million to a fund to benefit crash victims and lay out US$455 million to strengthen its compliance, safety and quality programmes.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Justice Department reaches deal to allow Boeing to avoid prosecution over 737 Max crashes
The Justice Department has reached a deal with Boeing that will allow the airplane giant to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed and killed 346 people, according to court papers filed Friday. Under the 'agreement in principle" that still needs to be finalized, Boeing would pay and invest more than $1.1 billion, including an additional $445 million for the crash victims' families, the Justice Department said. In return, the department would dismiss the fraud charge in the criminal case against the aircraft manufacturer. 'Ultimately, in applying the facts, the law, and Department policy, we are confident that this resolution is the most just outcome with practical benefits," a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement. "Nothing will diminish the victims' losses, but this resolution holds Boeing financially accountable, provides finality and compensation for the families and makes an impact for the safety of future air travelers.' Many relatives of the passengers who died in the crashes, which took place off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019, have spent years pushing for a public trial, the prosecution of former company officials, and more severe financial punishment for Boeing. 'Although the DOJ proposed a fine and financial restitution to the victims' families, the families that I represent contend that it is more important for Boeing to be held accountable to the flying public,' Paul Cassell, an attorney for many of the families in the long-running case, said in a statement earlier this week. 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 a 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. The Max planes crashed 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. Boeing avoided prosecution in 2021 by reaching a $2.5 billion settlement with the Justice Department that included a previous $243.6 million fine. A year ago, prosecutors said Boeing violated the terms of the 2021 agreement by failing to make promised changes to detect and prevent violations of federal anti-fraud laws. Boeing agreed last July to plead guilty to the felony fraud charge instead of enduring a potentially lengthy public trial. But in December, U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth rejected the plea deal. The judge said the diversity, inclusion and equity, or DEI, policies in the government and at Boeing could result in race being a factor in picking a monitor to oversee Boeing's compliance with the agreement.
New York Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
U.S. May Drop Guilty Plea Deal With Boeing Over Deadly Max Crashes, Lawyers Say
Federal prosecutors are considering abandoning a deal in which Boeing would plead guilty to a felony charge related to a pair of fatal crashes involving its 737 Max plane, according to lawyers for the families of some of the 346 crash victims. The lawyers said that they and the families were informed by Justice Department officials in a call on Friday about the reversal. During the call, Justice Department officials said that they were considering reaching a non-prosecution agreement with Boeing instead, the family lawyers said. 'While D.O.J. claims no final decision has been made, their scripted presentation made it clear that the outcome has already been decided,' Erin R. Applebaum, a lawyer at Kreindler & Kreindler, a firm that represents 34 families who lost loved ones in one of the crashes, said in a statement. 'This isn't justice. It's a backroom deal dressed up as a legal proceeding, and it sends a dangerous message: In America, the rich and powerful can buy their way out of accountability.' The Justice Department and Boeing did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A decision to reach a non-prosecution agreement would represent the latest about-face in a yearslong effort to hold Boeing accountable for two of the deadliest plane crashes in recent history. Last summer, prosecutors and Boeing had reached a deal in which the company agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the federal government. But that agreement has been under renegotiation in recent months, and Justice Department officials told families that Boeing has refused to plead guilty. Under a non-prosecution agreement, prosecutors agree not to pursue charges in exchange for some concessions. The officials told the families on Friday that they believed this kind of agreement was the best course of action, with other options including going to trial, which they said would be risky. The officials said that the framework for such an agreement would include Boeing paying about $445 million to a crash victims' fund, investing heavily in compliance and safety and agreeing to oversight by an 'independent compliance consultant,' according to Paul Cassell, a lawyer for many of the families in the case and a professor of criminal law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. Mr. Cassell added that if the department proceeded with its plans, the families would 'strenuously object' and ask the judge to throw out the deal. The crashes occurred in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019 and have been blamed on changes Boeing made to flight control software on the 737 Max. There was a global ban on flying the Max for almost two years, which started to unwind in late 2020. Boeing endured months of intense scrutiny from authorities around the world, deep reputational scars, and huge financial costs. It has reached settlements with some of the families of victims of the crash, but some are still pursuing legal action against the company. 'This isn't about money,' Chris Moore, whose 24-year-old daughter Danielle died in one of the crashes, said in a statement. 'You have no humanity. It's about justice.' The Justice Department case has taken several sharp turns. In a settlement in 2021 — during the final days of the first Trump administration — the department struck a deal with Boeing to dismiss criminal charges, provided that the company comply with the terms of a three-year agreement. Last year, under former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Justice Department determined that Boeing had violated that agreement, allowing it to revisit charging the company. In July, the two sides reached a new deal, one in which Boeing would plead guilty to a charge. As part of that deal, the company also agreed to pay a nearly $500 million fine, make a big investment in compliance and safety and be overseen by a compliance monitor independent of the Federal Aviation Administration. The victims' families said the deal did not go far enough. And late last year, the judge overseeing the case took issue with some details of the agreement, including a provision that required diversity to be a consideration in the appointment of the monitor.
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Families of victims appalled as Boeing seems likely to avoid prosecution over 737 Max crashes
Boeing is set to avoid prosecution in a fraud case sparked by two fatal crashes of its bestselling 737 Max jet that killed 346 people, according to sources familiar with the matter. The US Department of Justice is considering a non-prosecution agreement, relatives of the victims were told on Friday, through which the US aerospace giant would not be required to plead guilty. Representatives of the crash victims' families expressed outrage, describing the proposal as 'morally repugnant' after a tense call with senior justice department officials. Boeing and the justice department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The tentative deal between Boeing and the justice department was first reported by Reuters. In October 2018, 189 people were killed when Lion Air flight 610 fell into the Java Sea off Indonesia. In March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed shortly after take off from Addis Ababa airport, claiming 157 lives. The second crash prompted the worldwide grounding of the 737 Max for almost two years, and left Boeing scrambling to repair its reputation. While Boeing initially resolved a criminal investigation in January 2021, prosecutors accused it of breaching the settlement in 2024. This led the justice department to offer the firm a controversial plea deal last summer. In December, however, US district Judge Reed O'Connor in Texas rejected the agreement. He cited a diversity and inclusion provision related to the selection of an independent monitor. While Boeing had agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of up to $487.2m during the final months of the Biden administration, O'Connor's decision meant the Trump administration inherited the case. Under Donald Trump, the justice department has been overhauled, and his administration has faced questions around how aggressively it intends to pursue big companies that break the law. Sanjiv Singh, counsel for 16 families of crash victims, said: 'We are appalled by this sudden possible retreat from criminal prosecution of Boeing. A non-prosecution agreement is morally repugnant and lacks the teeth and bite to cause fundamental change in Boeings safety practices.' Shares in Boeing slipped 0.5% in New York.
