DALLAS (AP) - A federal court hearing scheduled for Wednesday in Texas may mark the final chance for the families of victims who perished in two Boeing 737 Max crashes to seek criminal prosecution against the company. U.S. District Chief Judge Reed O’Connor will evaluate a motion from the federal government aimed at dismissing a felony fraud charge against Boeing linked to the tragedies that resulted in 346 deaths off the coasts of Indonesia and Ethiopia.
The Justice Department contends that Boeing misled regulators regarding a flight-control system implicated in both crashes, which occurred less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019. In a proposed settlement, Boeing has pledged to pay or invest an additional $1.1 billion for fines and compensation for the families of the victims, alongside enhancing its internal safety and quality measures.
This hearing in Fort Worth follows a long-standing legal saga that commenced over four years ago, when the Justice Department first charged Boeing in January 2021. The initial settlement of $2.5 billion protected the company from criminal liability, provided it strengthened its ethics and compliance programs. However, prosecutors revived the charge last year, claiming Boeing had violated this agreement.
Though Boeing opted to plead guilty rather than go to trial, Judge O’Connor rejected that plea agreement in December 2024, expressing concerns over potential biases in the selection of an independent monitor tasked with overseeing Boeing's reform commitments. The judge, appointed by President George W. Bush, raised issues regarding diversity policies within both the federal government and Boeing.
Families of the victims have supported a public trial, arguing for a more substantial financial penalty against the company. However, the judge's decision to reject the plea facilitated Boeing's ability to contest the Justice Department's basis for charging the corporation, leading to a renegotiation of the deal over several months.
During this renegotiation period, former President Donald Trump reinstated an executive order that terminated diversity initiatives, addressing some of the concerns raised by Judge O’Connor. By late May, the Justice Department and Boeing reached a new agreement that removed both the criminal charge and Boeing’s guilty plea from consideration. The Justice Department cited "significant changes" in Boeing's quality control and anti-fraud programs as a reason for this new arrangement.
On Wednesday, Judge O’Connor will allow some family representatives to speak at the hearing, including those traveling from France, Ireland, and Canada, who will urge the judge not to approve the government’s request and to appoint a special prosecutor to oversee the case. Chris and Clariss Moore, whose daughter Danielle died in the Ethiopian crash, expressed concerns that the proposed deal would permit Boeing to evade responsibility, stating, "The safety of passengers will be held in the balance."
Justice Department attorneys revealed that the families of 110 crash victims either support resolving the case before trial or do not oppose the new agreement. They emphasized that successfully convincing a jury to achieve a criminal conviction may be precarious. Still, the new deal guarantees "meaningful accountability," providing significant immediate public benefits and concluding a challenging and complicated case whose outcome could otherwise remain uncertain.
Though it is standard for federal judges to defer to prosecutors in such matters, judicial approval is not guaranteed. The protracted case primarily revolves around a software system developed by Boeing for the 737 Max, which began operation in 2017. This system, implicated in the crashes, exhibited faults that led to the aircraft's nose pitching down repeatedly due to erroneous sensor readings, resulting in pilots for Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines losing control. In the aftermath of the Ethiopian crash, the fleet was grounded globally for nearly 20 months while Boeing reworked the software.
Investigations revealed that Boeing failed to adequately inform key Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) personnel about modifications made to the software prior to the certification of the airliner, which led to minimal and less rigorous pilot training requirements. The relationship between the pilot training requirements and the revised software ultimately played a crucial role in the later scrutiny of Boeing's safety protocols.
In January 2023, as last year’s settlement expired, a panel covering an unused emergency exit detached during an Alaska Airlines flight, reigniting concerns regarding Boeing's safety record. The consequences of this long-running legal affair continue to impact the company and the families of those affected by the fatal incidents.
