Boeing is set to plead guilty to making knowingly false representations to the Federal Aviation Administration about having expanded a key software feature used on the MAX to operate at low speeds. The new software saved Boeing money by requiring less intensive training for pilots.
The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) is a software feature designed to automatically push the airplane’s nose down in certain conditions. It was tied to the two crashes that led to the FAA grounding the plane for 20 months, an action that cost Boeing US$20 billion and was lifted by the government in November 2020.
As part of the deal, Boeing's board of directors will meet with relatives of those killed in the MAX crashes, the filing said.
DOJ officials modified their process for selecting an independent monitor in response to backlash from one of the lawyers representing victims' relatives, who argued the families should select the candidate instead of the government choosing from a pool of candidates Boeing would propose, according to the court filing.
US officials adjusted their plea offer to Boeing to stipulate they would select the pool of qualified candidates based on a public solicitation to which anyone can apply, including candidates the families support.
Lawyers for some of the families of the people killed in the two MAX crashes said they intended to exercise their right to oppose the deal.
"The families intend to argue that the plea deal with Boeing unfairly makes concessions to Boeing that other criminal defendants would never receive and fails to hold Boeing accountable for the deaths of 346 persons," they said in a separate court filing.
The agreement does not shield any executives, the DOJ filing said, though charges against individuals are seen as unlikely due to the statute of limitations. A former Boeing chief technical pilot was charged in connection with the Boeing fraud agreement but acquitted by a jury in 2022.
The agreed penalty will be Boeing's second fine of US$243.6 million related to the fatal crashes - bringing the full fine to the maximum allowed. The company paid the fine previously as part of 2021's US$2.5 billion settlement. The US$243.6 million fine represented the amount Boeing saved by not implementing full-flight simulator training for MAX pilots.
Families of the victims of those crashes slammed the previous agreement and this year pressed the Justice Department to seek as much as US$25 billion from Boeing.
This year, the DOJ has held several meetings to hear from the victims' families as they investigated Boeing's breach of the 2021 deal.
The DOJ and Boeing are working to document the full written plea agreement and file it in federal court in Texas by Jul 19, the DOJ said in the court filing.
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2024-07-08 05:35:00Z
CBMiemh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvYm9laW5nLXBsZWFkLWd1aWx0eS1mcmF1ZC11cy1wcm9iZS1saW9uLWFpci1ldGhpb3BpYW4tYWlybGluZXMtY3Jhc2gtNzM3LW1heC00NDY0NDEx0gEA
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