US JUDGE DROPS CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST BOEING OVER DEADLY 737 MAX CRASHES
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Agency Report
A United States judge on Thursday dismissed criminal charges against aircraft manufacturer Boeing over the deadly crashes of its 737 MAX 8 jets, following an agreement reached between the company and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The ruling, delivered by a Texas federal court, stems from a deal first announced on May 23, which allows Boeing to pay $1.1 billion in exchange for the dismissal of a criminal charge linked to the certification of the 737 MAX aircraft. The settlement also cancels a criminal trial previously scheduled for June 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The agreement resolves the case without requiring Boeing to plead guilty to fraud, despite the crashes of two 737 MAX planes a Lion Air flight in Indonesia in 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines flight in 2019 which killed a combined 346 people.
Boeing, in a statement, reiterated its remorse over the tragedies, saying, “We are deeply sorry for the crashes and remain committed to honouring the obligations of our agreement with the Department of Justice. We continue to strengthen our safety, quality, and compliance programs.”
The crashes were linked to malfunctions in the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), a flight control software that caused both aircraft to nose-dive shortly after takeoff.
When the deal’s terms were unveiled earlier this year, families of victims condemned it as overly lenient, accusing the DOJ of letting Boeing evade accountability.
“The message sent by this action to companies around the country is, don’t worry about making your products safe for your customers,” said Javier de Luis, whose sister was among those killed in the Ethiopian Airlines crash.
Others, however, expressed a desire for closure after years of litigation and public scrutiny.
The dropped case marks the latest chapter in a long-running legal battle stemming from the two disasters, which tarnished Boeing’s reputation and led to major leadership changes at the aerospace giant.
The DOJ had previously entered into a 2021 settlement with Boeing over allegations that it defrauded the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during the aircraft’s certification process. That agreement included a three-year probation period, which the DOJ later determined Boeing violated in May 2024 due to continued safety concerns.
Although Boeing agreed in July 2024 to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, Judge Reed O’Connor rejected a proposed plea deal in December, citing procedural concerns.
The DOJ’s latest arrangement effectively ends criminal proceedings against Boeing, though civil lawsuits and congressional scrutiny over the company’s safety practices are expected to continue.
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