Global News

New York (AFP) – A US judge dropped criminal charges against Boeing on Thursday over deadly crashes of its 737 MAX 8 aircraft as part of an agreement between the company and prosecutors.

Judge Reed O'Connor's decision stemmed from a May 23 agreement between the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the aircraft manufacturer to resolve the case over two crashes that resulted in 346 fatalities.

Under the deal, Boeing will pay $1.1 billion in return for the dismissal of a charge of "conspiracy to defraud the United States" over its conduct in the certification of the MAX, according to a federal filing.

The amount includes a $244 million fine, $445 million for a compensation fund for families of victims, and $455 million to strengthen safety, quality and compliance programs at Boeing.

The accord, a "non-prosecution agreement," scuttled a criminal trial that had been scheduled for June in Fort Worth, Texas.

The agreement resolves the case without requiring Boeing to plead guilty to fraud in the certification of the MAX.

A criminal conviction could have jeopardized Boeing's ability to secure contracts with the US government, a major customer for its aerospace and defense businesses.

Boeing has said it is "deeply sorry" for the crashes of a 2018 Lion Air flight in Indonesia that killed 189 and a 2019 Ethiopian Airlines flight that killed 157.

Boeing has blamed the design of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), a flight handling system that malfunctioned.

"We are committed to honoring the obligations of our agreement with the Department of Justice. We are also committed to continuing the significant efforts we have made as a company to strengthen our safety, quality, and compliance programs," Boeing said in a statement Thursday.

But in his order Thursday, O'Connor wrote that he had to dismiss the fraud charge even though he "disagrees with the Government that dismissing the criminal information in this case is in the public interest."

Attorney Paul Cassell, a former federal judge who represents some family members of MAX victims on a pro bono basis, noted O'Connor's reservations as he "reluctantly concluded that he was powerless to do anything about the reprehensible deal."

"We believe that the courts don't have to stand silently by while an injustice is perpetrated," said Cassell, now a law professor at the University of Utah, in an email to AFP.

"We will be rapidly going to the Fifth Circuit to ask it to reverse this decision, enforce the rights of the victim's families, and deny the Government's effort to simply drop these charges."

In announcing its plan in May, the DoJ acknowledged the opposition of some families, while noting that others preferred to move on and not prolong the litigation -- with the latter informing the agency's course.

"Rather than allow for protracted litigation, this agreement provides finality for the victims and requires Boeing to act now," the department said Thursday. "We are confident that this resolution is the most just outcome."

Thursday's announcement is the latest development in a marathon case that came in the wake of the two crashes, which tarnished Boeing's reputation and contributed to leadership shakeups at the aviation giant.

The case dates to a January 2021 DOJ 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 DOJ determined that Boeing had violated the 2021 accord following a number of subsequent safety lapses.

Boeing agreed in July 2024 to plead guilty to the conspiracy charge. But in December, O'Connor rejected a settlement codifying the guilty plea.

Boeing also still faces a small group of civil cases on the MAX crashes, despite having settled dozens of cases.

A Chicago federal court began hearing this week a claim from family members of one victim over financial damages.