Boeing is said to be on the verge of a nonprosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice over the two deadly 737 MAX crashes that claimed 346 lives. These crashes — Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019 — dominated global news, prompted the grounding of hundreds of airplanes, raised deep questions about aviation safety, and spawned one of the largest investigations in aviation history.
The crashes, which killed 346 people, were the result of a flawed software system called MCAS that repeatedly pushed the nose of the plane down. Subsequent investigations found that Boeing had concealed critical details about this system from the Federal Aviation Administration. Internal communications made public in 2020 revealed Boeing employees disparaging regulators and voicing concerns about the safety of the aircraft years before the second crash took place.
The accidents led to a global grounding of all 737 MAX jets for 20 months. Boeing's chief executive at the time, Dennis Muilenburg, was ousted, and the company endured sharp criticism from lawmakers, regulators, and the public. The company lost billions of dollars, stopped delivering the planes, and tarnished its reputation for safety.
In 2021, Boeing received a deferred prosecution arrangement from the DOJ during the Trump administration. That settlement protected Boeing from criminal charges, requiring only that it pay $2.5 billion and agree to change its ways. But after another safety lapse in January 2024 — a door panel blew out inflight on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 following a maintenance mistake — the DOJ ruled Boeing had broken that compromise. The door plug blowout renewed pressure on Boeing over its safety culture.
Prosecutors are now, once again, in discussions with Boeing. Such an agreement would prevent a scheduled trial on June 23. It would save the company from a felony conviction for fraud. That result has angered the families of crash victims, who have been pressing for a public trial. They contend that Boeing has long escaped true accountability.
Boeing recently informed families that it no longer wishes to plead guilty after agreeing to that in July 2024. The judge rejected an earlier plea deal in December, citing issues with Boeing's oversight. The DOJ officers are still discussing options to complete a nonprosecution settlement or proceed to trial. No official papers have been signed to date.
If approved, Boeing would probably have to pay an additional $444.5 million into a fund for victims' families, in addition to the $500 million it already paid in 2021. But the money is not enough, critics say. "Boeing should not be able to exit this," one of the lawyers for the families, Paul Cassell, said. Erin Applebaum, another lawyer, added that the meeting between the DOJ and the families looked "like a pre-set scripted meeting" and indicated the decision had already been made.
Boeing did not respond to a request for comment, and the DOJ declined to comment. But behind the scenes, the company has become increasingly confident about challenging the case. Boeing officials, as my colleagues report, consider that there are legal risks involved in going to trial. The DOJ, for its part, is now concerned that it would lose in court, causing a potential political backlash.
As it is, Boeing remains on the hook from its regulator FAA has limited production of the 737 MAX to 38 planes a month. Quality control and safety protocols are being more tightly monitored, particularly after whistleblowers reported continuing problems on the production line. One former engineer testified to Congress that shortcuts were ongoing.
The timing of the DOJ's decision is also politically precarious. Trump entered into the first deferred prosecution agreement. The plea negotiations had restarted during Biden's time in office. With Trump no longer in office, it remains uncertain how the DOJ will handle Boeing in the future.
Recently, Kelly Ortberg, the CEO of Boeing, joined Trump in Qatar to announce a massive aircraft purchase by Qatar Airways. Despite Boeing's efforts to improve, its past continues to haunt it. Justice, for many victims' families, is incomplete.
