Boeing has agreed to pay $1.1bn (£812m) to avoid prosecution over two fatal 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people, in a deal that a lawyer representing families of the victims has condemned as “morally repugnant”. The settlement with the US Department of Justice (DoJ), agreed in principle last month, includes $444.5m to be paid to the families of those who died in the 2018 and 2019 disasters.
The aerospace company will also invest $445m in improving its compliance, safety and quality programmes, according to an agreement signed by the DoJ and Boeing last week and detailed in a US court filing. Boeing has already paid $243m of a $487.2m criminal penalty agreed in 2021. Sanjiv Singh, the counsel for family members of some of the victims of the 2018 crash in Indonesia, told the BBC the deal allowed Boeing to “sidestep true criminal accountability”.
Two Boeing 737 Max jets crashed less than five months apart: Lion Air flight 610 fell into the Java Sea in October 2018, killing 189 people, and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa in March 2019, killing 157. Both incidents were linked to faulty flight control systems, and the second crash prompted the grounding of the 737 Max for nearly two years.
The company avoided prosecution in 2021 after reaching a settlement with the DoJ, which included a $243.6m fine. However, last year prosecutors argued that Boeing had violated the terms of that agreement by failing to make promised changes to detect and prevent violations of federal anti-fraud laws. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a felony fraud charge rather than face a lengthy public trial. But in December, US District Judge Reed O'Connor rejected the plea deal, citing concerns that diversity, equity and inclusion policies could lead to race being a factor in selecting an independent monitor.
If the new deal is approved by a federal judge, the fraud charge against Boeing will be dismissed. A Boeing spokesperson said: “Boeing is committed to complying with its obligations under this resolution, which include a substantial additional fine and commitments to further institutional improvements and investments.”
