Boeing to Plead Guilty to Fraud Charge Over 737 Max Crashes

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Facts

• Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the US over two plane crashes that killed 346 travelers, the US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) said in a filing late on Sunday.¹
• As part of the plea deal — which a federal judge in Texas must approve before it comes into effect — Boeing will pay a $243.6M fine and invest at least $455M on safety and compliance over the next three years.²
• Under the deal, the DOJ will also appoint an independent monitor who will submit annual reports on Boeing's progress on safety issues to the federal government during the three-year probation.³
• The aerospace giant had previously avoided criminal charges for misleading regulators over the 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, having entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ in 2021.⁴
• The latest plea deal only covers wrongdoing leading up to the crashes. It doesn't provide immunity for later incidents — including the mid-flight blowout of an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Additionally, it only covers Boeing the corporation, not Boeing employees.¹
• Meanwhile, lawyers representing some families of the crash victims called on the judge to reject the 'inappropriate plea,' which they allege hides 'the deadly consequences of Boeing's crime.'⁵

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²Guardian, ³New York Times, ⁴Al Jazeera and ⁵BBC News.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Guardian. While it could hurt Boeing's lucrative contracts with the US government, this agreement will enable the firm to move beyond these incidents without the embarrassment of a public trial. This is the best thing for the company's clean-up process as it's looking to appoint a new chief executive officer and is seeking to acquire Spirit AeroSystems.
• Narrative B, as provided by BBC News. This is a deeply inappropriate deal that fails to acknowledge that 346 people died as a result of Boeing's dubious safety and quality standards. It also allows the company to shield the public from the extent of those failures by avoiding a public trial. The judge assessing the deal must uphold the principles of justice and accountability.

Predictions