US seeks Boeing plea deal, lawyers say

The deal is tied to deadly 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019

Boeing assembly plant in Renton, Washington
The crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people total
(Image credit: Jennifer Buchanan / Pool / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

U.S. prosecutors are giving Boeing a week to accept a plea deal tied to a pair of deadly 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Under its terms, Boeing would plead guilty to one fraud-conspiracy felony, hire an outside safety compliance monitor, and pay an additional $244 million fine, according to lawyers for families of crash victims briefed Sunday by the Justice Department.

Who said what

The plea offer supersedes a delayed prosecution agreement Boeing signed in early 2021, a "form of corporate probation" lasting three years, The Wall Street Journal said. Federal prosecutors said in May that Boeing had violated its requirements. "Many family members feel like it's a sweetheart deal, but it's a serious step up in accountability from the original" settlement, attorney Mark Lindquist told the Journal.

Victims' families wanted Boeing to pay $24.8 billion and its top executives to face prosecution, a court filing last week said.

What next?

If Boeing rejects the terms, "prosecutors said they will take the case to trial," The Washington Post said. If it pleads guilty, that "could complicate its ability to receive government contracts unless it gets a waiver."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.