DoJ still considering criminal charges for Boeing

BTN News
Tuesday, 25 June 2024
US plane maker Boeing could face criminal charges after US prosecutors reportedly told the Department of Justice (DoJ) that the manufacturer violated a settlement related to two fatal crashes of the 737 MAX jet.
346 passengers and crew died in the Boeing 737 MAX crashes of flights by Indonesia’s Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines in late 2018 and early 2019.
 
As BTN has already reported, the DoJ has until 7 July to decide whether it intends to file criminal charges against Boeing.
 
The DoJ in May told a federal court it believed Boeing had violated the terms of a 2021 settlement in which it agreed to pay US$2.5 billion in penalties and compensation to airline customers and families of those who died in two fatal crashes. 
 
Boeing failed to “design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the US fraud laws throughout its operations”, according to the court filing.
 
The two crashes prompted the world-wide grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX fleet for nearly two years.
 
The crashes were caused by a new anti-stall system the 'manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system' (MCAS) that automatically dipped the nose of the planes if a sensor registered the jets might stall.
 
The deferred prosecution agreement protected the company from a fraud charge related to allegedly concealing information on how MCAS worked from aviation regulators. At the time of the settlement, the DoJ said “Boeing’s employees chose the path of profit over candour”.
 
The decision to go ahead with new charges has not been made, but it is understood the DoJ also has the option of extending the deferred prosecution by a year or proposing new, stricter terms.

DoJ still considering criminal charges for Boeing

BTN News
Tuesday, 25 June 2024
US plane maker Boeing could face criminal charges after US prosecutors reportedly told the Department of Justice (DoJ) that the manufacturer violated a settlement related to two fatal crashes of the 737 MAX jet.
346 passengers and crew died in the Boeing 737 MAX crashes of flights by Indonesia’s Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines in late 2018 and early 2019.
 
As BTN has already reported, the DoJ has until 7 July to decide whether it intends to file criminal charges against Boeing.
 
The DoJ in May told a federal court it believed Boeing had violated the terms of a 2021 settlement in which it agreed to pay US$2.5 billion in penalties and compensation to airline customers and families of those who died in two fatal crashes. 
 
Boeing failed to “design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the US fraud laws throughout its operations”, according to the court filing.
 
The two crashes prompted the world-wide grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX fleet for nearly two years.
 
The crashes were caused by a new anti-stall system the 'manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system' (MCAS) that automatically dipped the nose of the planes if a sensor registered the jets might stall.
 
The deferred prosecution agreement protected the company from a fraud charge related to allegedly concealing information on how MCAS worked from aviation regulators. At the time of the settlement, the DoJ said “Boeing’s employees chose the path of profit over candour”.
 
The decision to go ahead with new charges has not been made, but it is understood the DoJ also has the option of extending the deferred prosecution by a year or proposing new, stricter terms.