Latest news with #Maxes
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Boeing reaches $1.1 billion settlement with DOJ to avoid prosecution
May 23 (UPI) -- Boeing has avoided prosecution over two crashes of 737 Max planes that killed 346 people, but must pay $1.1 billion in a settlement reached with the U.S. Justice Department. The aerospace company won't face a trial as scheduled next month, ABC News reported. Last week, DOJ officials met with crash victims' family members, many of whom want the company to go to trial, about the agreement, according to CNBC. The company, as part of the agreement, must pay $444.5 million for a new fund for crash victims. The eight-page agreement filed Friday was obtained by Flying magazine. Paul Cassell, a lawyer representing some of the families, said in a statement he hopes U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor rejects the deal. "This kind of non-prosecution deal is unprecedented and obviously wrong for the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history," Cassell said. "My families will object and hope to convince the court to reject it." DOJ noted relatives of more than 110 crash victims said they support the non-prosecution agreement or "support the Department's efforts to resolve the case pre-trial more generally." Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut sent a letter Friday to Attorney General Pam Bond urging her agency not to cut a deal and "to hold Boeing and any responsible executives accountable for their role in the 2018 Lion Air and the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crashes, which killed a total of 346 passengers." The DOJ said it intends to file a motion to dismiss the case once the "agreement in principle" is finalized, by no later than the end of next week. "It is the Government's judgment that the Agreement is a fair and just resolution that serves the public interest," the DOJ said in the filing in the North District of Texas in Fort Worth. "The Agreement guarantees further accountability and substantial benefits from Boeing immediately, while avoiding the uncertainty and litigation risk presented by proceeding to trial." In the agreement, Boeing "will admit to conspiracy to obstruct and impede the lawful operation of the Federal Aviation Administration Aircraft Evaluation Group. Also, the aerospace company, besides the fund for victims, must pay a $487.2 million criminal fine, though $243.6 million it already paid in an earlier agreement; $444.5 million for a new fund for crash victims; and $445 million more on compliance, safety and quality programs. On Oct. 29, 2018, the first crash in Jakarta, Indonesia, killed all 189 passengers and crew. Black box data from the Lion Air jet showed the pilots struggled to fight the plane's malfunctioning safety system from takeoff to the moment it nose-dived into the water. In the second crash four months later on March 10, 2019, 157 people died when a Ethiopian Airlines aircraft crashed minutes after takeoff in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Maxes were grounded for nearly two years after the second crash. In 2021 during the first Trump administration, Boeing agreed to a $2.51 billion fine to avoid prosecution. It was set to expire two days after a door panel blew out of a nearly new 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines on Jan. 5, 2024. The aircraft left Boeing's factory without key bolts installed. In 2024, U.S. prosecutors said Boeing violated the settlement because the company failed to set up and enforce a compliance and ethics program to detect violations of U.S. fraud laws. Then Boeing agreed to plead guilty to criminal fraud last December. O'Connor determined the government's diversity, equity and inclusion policies was a factor in the selection of an independent compliance monitor for Boeing. The company had agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay a fine of at least $243 million besides that same amount paid earlier. In 2022, a Boeing former chief technical pilot was acquitted on fraud charges tied to the Max's development.
NBC News
23-05-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Boeing, Justice Department reach deal to avoid prosecution over deadly 737 Max crashes
The U.S. Justice Department said Friday that it has reached a deal with Boeing t hat will allow the aircraft maker to avoid prosecution over two crashes of its 737 Max planes that killed 346 people. The non-prosecution agreement would allow Boeing, a major military contractor and top U.S. exporter, to avoid being labeled a felon. The decision means Boeing won't face trial as scheduled next month, as crash victims' family members have urged for years. The Department of Justice met with crash victims' family members last week to discuss the potential deal. In a court filing Friday the DOJ said it 'is the Government's judgment that the Agreement is 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.' The DOJ said it intends to file a motion to dismiss the case once the 'agreement in principle' is finalized, by no later than the end of next week. Under the agreement, Boeing will have to 'pay or invest' more than $1.1 billion, the DOJ said in its filing in federal court in Texas on Friday. That amount includes a $487.2 million criminal fine, though $243.6 million it already paid in an earlier agreement would be credited. It also includes $444.5 million for a new fund for crash victims, and $445 million more on compliance, safety and quality programs. Boeing declined to comment. The company has been trying for years to put the two crashes of its best-selling Max planes — a Lion Air flight in October 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines flight less than five months later — behind it. The Maxes were grounded worldwide for nearly two years after the second crash, a pause that gave rival Airbus a head start in recovering from the Covid pandemic. But families of the crash victims have criticized previous agreements as sweetheart deals for Boeing, called for more accountability from the company and said its executives should stand trial. In 2022, a former chief technical pilot for Boeing was acquitted on fraud charges tied to the Max's development. Several of the victims' family members issued a statement through their lawyer shortly after the court filing was released criticizing the deal and saying it set a troubling precedent for other large companies. 'This kind of non-prosecution deal is unprecedented and obviously wrong for the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history. My families will object and hope to convince the court to reject it,' said the families' lawyer, Paul Cassell. The Justice Department said relatives of more than 110 crash victims told the government they support the non-prosecution agreement or 'support the Department's efforts to resolve the case pre-trial more generally,' but added that others said they want the U.S. to take Boeing to trial and that they would litigate to dismiss the deal. The aerospace giant reached a settlement in 2021 in the final days of the first Trump administration that shielded it from prosecution for three years. Under that deal, Boeing agreed to pay a $2.51 billion fine to avoid prosecution. That included a $243.6 million criminal penalty, a $500 million fund for crash victims' family members and $1.77 billion for its airline customers. The new fund will be on top of the $500 million that was already established. That 2021 settlement was set to expire two days after a door panel blew out of a nearly new 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines on Jan. 5, 2024, after the aircraft left Boeing's factory without key bolts installed. But last year, U.S. prosecutors said Boeing violated the 2021 settlement, accusing the company of failing to set up and enforce a compliance and ethics program to detect violations of U.S. fraud laws. Last July, toward the end of the Biden administration, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to the criminal fraud charge in a new settlement. A federal judge later rejected the plea deal, citing concerns with diversity, equity and inclusion requirements for choosing a corporate monitor. Under that 2024 deal, Boeing would have faced a fine of up to $487.2 million, though the Justice Department recommended that the court credit Boeing with half that amount it paid under the previous agreement. The U.S. had accused Boeing of conspiracy to defraud the government by misleading regulators about its inclusion of a flight-control system on the Max that was later implicated in the two crashes. 'Boeing's employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception,' then-acting Assistant Attorney General David Burns of the Justice Department's Criminal Division said at the time of the 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. Messages revealed in an investigation into the Max's development showed the former top Boeing pilot who was found not guilty of fraud in 2022, Mark Forkner, told the FAA to delete the flight-control system known as MCAS from manuals and, in a separate email, he boasted about 'jedi-mind tricking' regulators into approving the training material. Lawyers for victims' family members railed against last year's preliminary plea deal, equating it to a slap on the wrist for the corporate giant, which recently won a contract worth billions to build the next-generation fighter jet and works on other military programs including outfitting two new presidential jets. Rescuers work at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, March 11, Ayene | ReutersFamily members hold photographs of crash victims lost in two deadly Boeing 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people as Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg testifies before a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on aviation safety and the grounded 737 Max, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 29, Silbiger | Reuters
Business Mayor
23-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Boeing, Justice Department reach deal to avoid prosecution over deadly 737 Max crashes
Ethiopian Federal policemen stand at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 11, 2019. Tiksa Negeri | Reuters The U.S. Justice Department said Friday that it has reached a deal with Boeing to avoid prosecution over two crashes of the plane maker's 737 Max that killed 346 people. The so-called non-prosecution agreement would allow Boeing, a major military contractor and top U.S. exporter, to avoid being labeled a felon. The decision means Boeing won't face trial as scheduled next month. The Justice Department said it reached a deal with Boeing in a letter to victims family members, which was seen bc CNBC. Boeing and the DOJ didn't immediately comment. Boeing has been trying for years to put the two crashes of its best-selling Max planes — a Lion Air flight in October 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines flight less than five months later — behind it. The Maxes were grounded worldwide for nearly two years after the second crash, a pause that gave rival Airbus a head start to recover from the Covid pandemic. But families of the crash victims have criticized previous agreements as sweetheart deals for Boeing, called for more accountability from the company and said its executives should stand trial. In 2022, a former chief technical pilot for Boeing was acquitted on fraud charges tied to the Max's development. The aerospace giant reached a settlement in 2021 in the final days of the first Trump administration that shielded it from prosecution for three years. Under that deal, Boeing agreed to pay a $2.51 billion fine to avoid prosecution. That included a $243.6 million criminal penalty, a $500 million fund for crash victims family members and $1.77 billion for its airline customers. Rescuers work at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, March 11, 2019. Mulugeta Ayene | Reuters That 2021 settlement was set to expire two days after a door panel blew out of a nearly new 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines on Jan. 5, 2024, after the aircraft left Boeing's factory without key bolts installed. But last year, U.S. prosecutors said Boeing violated the 2021 settlement, accusing the company of failing to set up and enforce a compliance and ethics program to detect violations of U.S. fraud laws. Last July, toward the end of the Biden administration, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to the criminal fraud charge in a new settlement. A federal judge later rejected the plea deal, citing concerns with a diversity, equity and inclusion requirements for choosing a corporate monitor. Under that 2024 deal, Boeing would have faced a fine of up to $487.2 million, though the Justice Department recommended that the court credit Boeing with half that amount it paid under the previous agreement. Family members hold photographs of Boeing 737 MAX crash victims lost in two deadly 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people as Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg testifies before a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on 'aviation safety' and the grounded 737 MAX on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 29, 2019. Sarah Silbiger | Reuters The U.S. had accused Boeing of conspiracy to defraud the government by misleading regulators about its inclusion of a flight-control system on the Max that was later implicated in the two crashes. 'Boeing's employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception,' then-acting Assistant Attorney General David Burns of the Justice Department's Criminal Division said at the time of the 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. Messages revealed in an investigation into the Max's development showed the former top Boeing pilot who was found not guilty of fraud in 2022, Mark Forkner, told the FAA to delete the flight-control system known as MCAS from manuals and, in a separate email, he boasted about 'jedi-mind tricking' regulators into approving the training material. Lawyers for victims' family members railed against last year's preliminary plea deal, equating it to a slap on the wrist for the corporate giant, which recently won a contract worth billions to built the next-generation fighter jet. This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
CNBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Boeing, Justice Department reach deal to avoid prosecution over deadly 737 Max crashes
The U.S. Justice Department said Friday that it has reached a deal with Boeing to avoid prosecution over two crashes of the plane maker's 737 Max that killed 346 people. The so-called non-prosecution agreement would allow Boeing, a major military contractor and top U.S. exporter, to avoid being labeled a felon. The decision means Boeing won't face trial as scheduled next month. The Justice Department said it reached a deal with Boeing in a letter to victims family members, which was seen bc CNBC. Boeing and the DOJ didn't immediately comment. Boeing has been trying for years to put the two crashes of its best-selling Max planes — a Lion Air flight in October 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines flight less than five months later — behind it. The Maxes were grounded worldwide for nearly two years after the second crash, a pause that gave rival Airbus a head start to recover from the Covid pandemic. But families of the crash victims have criticized previous agreements as sweetheart deals for Boeing, called for more accountability from the company and said its executives should stand trial. In 2022, a former chief technical pilot for Boeing was acquitted on fraud charges tied to the Max's development. The aerospace giant reached a settlement in 2021 in the final days of the first Trump administration that shielded it from prosecution for three years. Under that deal, Boeing agreed to pay a $2.51 billion fine to avoid prosecution. That included a $243.6 million criminal penalty, a $500 million fund for crash victims family members and $1.77 billion for its airline customers. That 2021 settlement was set to expire two days after a door panel blew out of a nearly new 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines on Jan. 5, 2024, after the aircraft left Boeing's factory without key bolts installed. But last year, U.S. prosecutors said Boeing violated the 2021 settlement, accusing the company of failing to set up and enforce a compliance and ethics program to detect violations of U.S. fraud laws. Last July, toward the end of the Biden administration, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to the criminal fraud charge in a new settlement. A federal judge later rejected the plea deal, citing concerns with a diversity, equity and inclusion requirements for choosing a corporate monitor. Under that 2024 deal, Boeing would have faced a fine of up to $487.2 million, though the Justice Department recommended that the court credit Boeing with half that amount it paid under the previous agreement. The U.S. had accused Boeing of conspiracy to defraud the government by misleading regulators about its inclusion of a flight-control system on the Max that was later implicated in the two crashes. "Boeing's employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception," then-acting Assistant Attorney General David Burns of the Justice Department's Criminal Division said at the time of the 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. Messages revealed in an investigation into the Max's development showed the former top Boeing pilot who was found not guilty of fraud in 2022, Mark Forkner, told the FAA to delete the flight-control system known as MCAS from manuals and, in a separate email, he boasted about "jedi-mind tricking" regulators into approving the training material. Lawyers for victims' family members railed against last year's preliminary plea deal, equating it to a slap on the wrist for the corporate giant, which recently won a contract worth billions to built the next-generation fighter jet.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Yahoo
Best Cheaper Rivals to Apple AirPods Max for 2025: Sony, Bose, AirPods Pro 2 and More
The Apple AirPods Max are one of the best mainstream headphones on the market with high-quality audio, earning a very high rating in my review. But the hefty price tag means they may not be the best option for everyone. Thankfully, there are a lot of more affordable alternatives on the market that could fit every budget without making compromises on quality. I've tested them to bring you the best noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones, along with a few wired options for those who prefer them. The AirPods Max have a retail price of $549 at Apple. Though you may find them on sale every now and then, they're still going to be quite pricey hovering around the $500 price point, which can be a big pill to swallow for a lot of people. That's exactly why we've tested and picked some of the best AirPods Max alternatives that cost a lot less. Below are my current top picks, including Apple's own Beats Studio Pro, which costs less than half the price of the Maxes. If I had to choose one, I'd say Sony's WH-1000XM5 headphones are the best cheaper alternative to the AirPods Max. With top-notch sound, active noise cancelation (ANC), as well as a robust feature set and best-in-class voice call quality, the WH-1000XM5s earned CNET's Editors' Choice award in 2023. If you're looking for something even cheaper, Sony's entry-level CH-720N are lightweight and comfortable with good sound and great noise canceling. I've tested hundreds of headphones over the last 20 years, and I've fully reviewed or had hands-on experience with all my picks on this list. I'll be sure to update it as more models are released in 2025. But if you decide that you'd rather have the real thing, check out our list of the best Apple AirPods. Before anything else, you'll want to figure out how much you're willing to spend on an AirPods Max alternative. The quality of value-priced headphones continues to improve, so you can find good affordable headphones for less than $100. The premium models, which offer better build quality and performance, tend to cost $200 or more -- sometimes much more. It's key that the headphones you buy fit your head well. They should offer a comfortable fit that's snug yet not too snug. Ideally, you want headphones you can wear throughout the day with minimal breaks. You want headphones that hold up well over time, so look for models that we note have sturdy build quality. You want the best-sounding headphones with the best noise-canceling, call quality and features for whatever you're able to spend. It's critical to buy your headphones at a retailer that has a good return policy, in case you have buyer's remorse. Some people who are having trouble deciding between two models sometimes buy both, try them out for a few days and then return one. We test headphones and earbuds based on six key criteria. These criteria include design, sound quality, noise-canceling performance, voice-calling performance, features and value. Design: Evaluating design, we assess not only how comfortable the headphones and earbuds fit (their ergonomics) but their build quality and how well the controls are implemented. When it comes to earbuds, we also look at water- and dust-resistance ratings. Sound quality: We evaluate sound quality by listening to a set playlist of music tracks and comparing the earbuds to top competing products in their price range. Sonic traits such as bass definition, clarity, dynamic range and how natural the headphones sound are key factors in our assessment. Noise-canceling performance: If the headphones we're testing feature active noise canceling (ANC), we evaluate ANC performance by wearing the headphones in the same spot indoors near a noisy HVAC unit to see how well they do at muffling lower frequencies. Then we head out to the streets of New York to test the headphones in a real-world environment where we see how they muffle not only street noise but people's voices. Extra features: Some great-sounding noise-canceling headphones and earbuds aren't loaded with features, but we do take into account what extra features are on board. These include everything from quick-access awareness to transparency modes (your music pauses and the headphones open up to the outside world so you can have a conversation) to special sound modes to ear-detection sensors that automatically pause your music when you take the headphones off your ears. We also take a look at the companion app for the headphones if there is one and how user-friendly it is. Voice-calling: When we test voice-calling performance, we make calls in the noisy streets of New York and evaluate how well the headphones or earbuds reduce background noise and how clearly callers can hear our voices. Value: We determine value after evaluating the strength of the headphones and earbuds against all these criteria and what they're able to deliver compared to other models in their price class. Sony MDR-M1: The new-for-2024 MDR-M1 are essentially a premium version of the 7506, delivering sound that's hard to match for the price. These are the wired headphones that will make you realize what you're missing after listening to wireless headphones for so long. They feature big, open sound with excellent clarity, accuracy and tight bass. Earfun Wave Pro: They list for $80, but click the 20% instant coupon on their product page to get a discount. They may not sound as good as premium noise-canceling headphones from Bose or Sony, but they're comfortable to wear, feature decent sound with punchy bass (they're a bit lacking in clarity and bass definition compared to more expensive models), and offer respectable noise canceling (you can toggle between two levels of ANC) and voice-calling performance. I found them to be a step up from the Soundpeats Space headphones, which sometimes cost a little less. QCY H3 Pro: Its new-for-2024 H3 Pro headphones are similar to models in this price range from 1More, Tribit and Edifier, but they arguably sound a touch better and I found them relatively comfortable to wear, as they feature a lightweight design and memory foam ear pads. JBL Live 770NC: The well-designed and comfortable JBL Live 770NC offers some modest improvements over its predecessor, including better battery life (up to 65 hours with ANC off and 50 hours with ANC on) and Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio (via a future firmware upgrade). Equipped with 40mm drivers, you get bold, nicely defined sound with powerful bass that's relatively tight. JBL's Ambient Aware and TalkThru features are on board along with multipoint Bluetooth pairing (the one feature that's missing is ear-detection sensors that pause your music when you take the headphones off). Edifier W830NB: The W830NB looks slightly more premium than its predecessor, and like that earlier model, is fairly lightweight (265 grams) and comfortable, with cushy memory foam ear pads. They also sound very good for their price, offering decent clarity and fairly well-defined bass with an amply wide sound stage (they lack the refinement and depth of higher-end headphones, but you can't expect the world from sub-$80 headphones). You can tweak the sound profile in Edifier's companion app for iOS and Android. Sennheiser Accentum Plus: In 2023, Sennheiser released a new midrange noise-canceling headphone called the Accentum which was sort of a slightly stripped-down version of its flagship Momentum Wireless 4 headphones with smaller 37mm drivers (the MW4 has 42mm drivers). The Accentum Plus, new for 2024, adds some extra features for $50 more, or $230. They include touch controls, adaptive noise canceling, support for the AptX Adaptive Audio codec, an analog port for wired listening and a hard carrying case. Even though it costs more, I do recommend this model over the Accentum because of those extras. Anker Soundcore Space One: Available in three color options, the Soundcore Space One by Anker are a good value for around $100, offering a strong feature set along with good sound quality and performance. They can't compete sound-wise with many of the premium noise-canceling models, but you don't feel like you're giving up that much on the sound front to save a good deal of money. They lack a bit of that natural, refined quality you look for in a great set of cans, but the Space One sounds respectable, with decent clarity and bass definition and measures up well to the more expensive Soundcore Space 45. Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X: These headphones are targeted at content creators who want accurate audio reproduction, but it's a bit more dynamic sounding and less bass-shy than many studio headphones, which tend to restrain the bass and hew toward a very neutral sound profile. The DT 700 X are revealing, clean-sounding headphones that offer invitingly open sound (particularly for closed-back headphones) and make you realize what you're missing after listening to similarly priced Bluetooth headphones. Often, the biggest difference is build quality. Premium headphones tend to feel sturdier and tend to be built with more premium materials. They also have a more premium look and feel to both the headphones themselves and any accessories (carrying cases, charging cables, etc.). In theory, premium headphones should hold up better over time. Additionally, they tend to have more features such as ear-detection sensors and they pair with a companion app so you can upgrade the firmware (as well as tweak the sound and possibly customize the controls). Finally, while some cheaper headphones have active noise cancellation, the performance of the noise-canceling and transparency modes tends to be better with more premium do. Many cheaper buds now feature multiple microphones and some do a surprisingly good job when it comes to voice calling. A few models on this list have surprisingly good noise reduction and measure up well against the AirPods, which are known for their strong voice-calling short answer is, not really when you're talking about spatial audio with head tracking for movie and TV watching. While the AirPods Max offers the best sound overall, using the spatial audio virtual sound feature is largely the same experience on all headphones that support it.
