Boeing should face criminal charges over 737 Max crashes, say US prosecutors
Boeing should face criminal charges after violating a settlement over two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft, US prosecutors have said.
The aerospace giant has been accused of breaching a settlement related to the crashes, which took place in 2018 and 2019.
The two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people, resulting in the longest grounding of a commercial jet in US history for the 737 Max.
US prosecutors have said that Boeing violated the terms of its settlement and have recommended that the Department of Justice bring criminal charges, according to Reuters.
Under the 2021 deal Boeing agreed to pay $2.5bn (£2bn) in fines and compensation to customers and families involved in the crashes and to overhaul its compliance practices. The settlement gave Boeing protection from claims that it deceived regulators into approving the 737 Max aircraft.
However, the Department of Justice last month told a Texas court that Boeing had failed to “design, implement and enforce a compliance and ethics programme to prevent and detect violations” of fraud laws, breaching the settlement. Boeing has said it believes it “honoured the terms” of the deal.
Talks are ongoing and officials have until July 7 to decide whether to prosecute the business.
A spokesman for Boeing declined to comment.
The threat of new legal action comes at a time when Boeing is facing pressure after a panel blew off one of its planes mid-flight on Jan 5.
It follows years of recriminations over the fatal crashes, which took place within six months of each other.
In both, the aircraft crashed after a new flight control system sent the planes into a series of automated nosedives which the pilots had not been trained to recover from.
Two years later Boeing agreed to settle claims that it had concealed information from regulators, who were responsible for signing off on pilot training materials, about the critical upgrades to its systems.
The Department of Justice said at the time that Boeing employees “chose the path of profit over candour”.
Relatives of the crash victims have since demanded that US officials seek a $25bn fine and bring forward criminal penalties against Boeing.
According to Reuters, the US government could charge Boeing, or it could extend the length of the settlement or impose stricter terms. It could also appoint a third party to monitor the company or demand it pleads guilty to wrongdoing.
Earlier this month, David Calhoun, Boeing’s chief executive, faced a grilling by US politicians in Congress as he apologised to relatives of those killed on its Boeing 737 Max planes.
However he insisted was “proud” of the company’s safety record.
The hearing was watched by families of the victims of the 2018 and 2019 crashes. One was heard to shout: “You should be in jail.”