Boeing to plead guilty to avoid trial over fatal 737 Max crashes

Lawyer for relatives of crash victims blasts plea agreement with US Department of Justice as a ‘sweetheart deal’.

Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to fraud to avoid going on trial in the United States on charges stemming from two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max.

Under the plea deal, Boeing would pay a fine of $243.6m and be required to invest at least $455m in its compliance and safety programmes, the US Department of Justice said in a court filing on Sunday.

The aircraft giant would also agree to be subject to a third-party monitor’s assessment of its safety and quality procedures for three years.

“We can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle on terms of a resolution with the Justice Department, subject to the memorialisation and approval of specific terms,” Boeing said in a statement.

The plea agreement announced on Sunday only relates to Boeing’s culpability in relation to the 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, not other incidents that have raised questions about the company’s safety standards, including the mid-flight blowout of Alaska Airlines flight 1282 in January.