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Boeing is going to plead guilty to criminal fraud charges around the 737 MAX and two related crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). As part of its guilty plea in the US District Court in Texas, Boeing will pay $487.2 million in penalties and $455 million over a three-year period to improve its compliance and safety programs according to Axios.
The aircraft manufacturer has seen a shift over the past few years from focusing on engineering to short-term profits. This resulted in a 2018 crash in Indonesia and another in Ethiopia in 2019. Between the two crashes, 346 people perished. In 2021, Boeing paid more than $2.5 billion to settle criminal charges around a conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in connection with its investigation into the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
The investigation around these crashes found that Boeing had deceived regulators who approved the 737 MAX’ certification. The software on the aircraft didn’t exist on older Boeing models and it was said to reduce the time pilots would need to be trained to fly it safely. In 2021, the DOJ said it would not prosecute Boeing if it followed the required changes delineated in the settlement over a three-year timeframe. The time has come and Boeing did not comply. Boeing “fail[ed] to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the US fraud laws throughout its operations.”
Boeing was given a choice. It could either pay a hefty fine and enter a guilty plea or go to trial on the felony criminal charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States. It chose the guilty plea and fine. This amounts to a $243.6 million fine, a government appointee to oversee its quality and safety procedures for the next three years, and an additional $455 million investment in safety and compliance programs. These penalties are all related to the company as an entity and not employees. Further, Boeing could still face charges for other recent incidents like Alaska flight AS1282 where a door plug blew off mid-flight (more here).
The Washington Post reports that Paul Cassell (an attorney for families involved in the 2018 crash in Indonesia and the second crash in Ethiopia) filed an objection. He said:
[The families] intend to argue that the plea deal with Boeing unfairly makes concessions to Boeing that other criminal defendants would never receive and fails to hold Boeing accountable. This sweetheart deal fails to recognize that because of Boeing’s conspiracy, 346 people died. Through crafty lawyering between Boeing and D.O.J., the deadly consequences of Boeing’s crime are being hidden.”
Anthony’s Take: This is a start, but Boeing still seems to have a lot to answer for and we’ll have to wait and see what comes of the more recent incidents. Thankfully, no one dies on Alaska flight AS1282, but there is an issue with quality that seems to be popping up and Boeing needs to be held accountable if corners were truly cut in the engineering and manufacturing.
(Image Credits: Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
