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2h ago

Judge Dismisses Boeing Criminal Case Over 737 Max Crashes Under $1.1 Billion Deal

The decision endorses a Justice Department non-prosecution agreement that the judge criticized for failing to deliver sufficient accountability.

FILE - A Boeing 737 Max jet prepares to land at Boeing Field following a test flight in Seattle, Sept. 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
FILE - Wreckage is piled at the crash scene of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, March 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene, File)
FILE - In this March 11, 2019, file photo, rescuers work at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Pilot Bernd Kai von Hoesslin pleaded with his bosses for more training on the Boeing Max, just weeks before the Ethiopian Airline's jet crashed, killing everyone on board. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene, File)
A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft is assembled at the company's plant in Renton, Washington, U.S. June 25, 2024. Jennifer Buchanan/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor granted the DOJ’s request to drop a conspiracy charge against Boeing tied to the 2018–2019 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people.
  • The resolution requires roughly $1.1 billion in total obligations, including $444.5 million for a victims’ fund, a new $243.6 million fine, and more than $455 million for safety, quality, and compliance programs.
  • O'Connor said victims’ families were right that the deal lacks independent monitoring and falls short on accountability, but he concluded he lacked authority to block the dismissal.
  • In Chicago, the first civil damages trial from the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash is proceeding with one remaining plaintiff, the family of United Nations consultant Shikha Garg.
  • Boeing reached last-minute confidential settlements with families of Mercy Ndivo, Abdul Jalil Qaid Ghazi Hussein, and Nasrudin Mohammed, and the company has accepted responsibility while disputing the size of damages.