It’s no secret that Boeing’s future is under threat.
In the past year, safety faults, accidents and fatalities have plagued what was once a highly respected company.
It Couldn’t Get Any Worse… Could it?
Just when it seemed Boeing might be on track to start cleaning up the mess, yet another dangerous incident occurred.
Last week, a Boeing 767 caught fire whilst taking off from a UK airport. It happened because an engine blade shattered, which then caused others to shatter, which damaged the wing of the plane and allowed fuel to start escaping. This was on a plane full of passengers. Fortunately, the pilot and emergency services reacted quickly and no one was hurt.
Litany of Dangerous Incidents
This comes after a disasterous year.
In January, a door came off a Boeing plane in mid-flight and passengers had to strap themselves in to avoid being swept away. In May, a Boeing plane was involved in a dangerous Dutch Roll mid-flight. Before that, a whistleblower had come forward with concerns about production safety.
Fatalities
All of this pales into insignificance, though, compared to two fatal crashes which happened in 2018 and 2019.
One was on Ethiopian Airlines and the other was a Lion Air flight. In both cases, everyone on board died, with a total of 346 deaths.
Trial Diverted
This week it has seemed that Boeing is trying to escape a criminal trial for those deaths. The charge would be one of criminal conspiracy to commit fraud.
If Boeing accepts the plea deal offered by the US Department of Justice, it will plead guilty to the charges, thus avoiding any further charges and it will pay a fine of £7 million (a tiny proportion of its £7.7 billion profits) instead of going to trial.
Families Angered
The families of the crash victims have been angered by this plea deal which they believe seeks to avoid justice for their loved one’s deaths.
One relative said: “In the land of the free and the brave, I thought that the Department of Justice would be brave enough to stand up to them and prioritize public safety.”
Plea Deal Delayed
On top of all this, the finalising of the plea deal is now delayed.
It is believed that this may be because Boeing is trying to negotiate a better deal for itself, according to a lawyer for the families who said: “The primary takeaway for me is that if Boeing didn’t have so much influence over the proceedings, the plea would’ve been filed by now.” She also said that the plea deal is “shameful” and “fails to mention or recognize the dignity of the victims”.
No Manslaughter Charges
No one at Boeing has faced any responsibilty for the deaths of 346 people.
It is reported that the previous and current CEOs of Boeing – Dennis Muilenburg and David Calhoun – both knew about the safety concerns on the MAX 8 plane model and pushed for faster production anyway. Neither has faced manslaughter charges for this.
Strong Protest
The plea deal will not go ahead without strong protest from the families and lawyers of the victims.
They are planning to appeal both to the judge and to the public for a re-consideration of this deal before it goes ahead.
No Comments Made
At the time of writing, no comments have been made by Boeing or the Department of Justice on the current state of affairs.
It remains to be seen what the outcome will be in the coming weeks.
