The US Department of Justice (DoJ) is expected to charge Boeing with fraud but will offer them a plea deal that would allow them to avoid going to trial.
The planemaker will have until the end of this week to decide if it will accept the deal that has angered victims’ families and been condemned as a “sweetheart deal” by attorneys.
The Crashes Which Sparked Investigation
Two crashes of Boeing 737’s sparked investigations. The first of these took place in October 2018 when a flight from Indonesia crashed into the Java Sea, killing 189 people on board.
The second crash took place in March 2019 when a flight from Ethiopia that was supposed to land in Kenya crashed just six minutes after take-off; killing all 157 on board.
“Sweetheart Deal” Prompts Anger
Attorneys representing relatives of plane crash victims said the government’s plea offer amounts to a “sweetheart deal” with Boeing.
Relatives were briefed on the deal, with one asking an official how he sleeps at night. An attorney representing the families of 15 victims, Paul Cassell, said, “The memory of 346 innocents killed by Boeing demands more justice than this.”
Boeing Broke Conditions of Previous Deal
In 2021, another controversial deal between Boeing and the DoJ was reached, shielding the company from a criminal conspiracy charge over fraud arising from the two tragic plane crashes.
However, the Justice Department said Boeing had breached the deal, just as the planemaker came under controversy for an emergency landing after a 737’s cabin panel blew off mid-flight.
Emergency Landing Viral Incident
In January 2024, a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing after a window and chunk of fuselage blew out on the aircraft mid-flight.
No-one was seriously injured or killed during the flight, but the incident went viral and prompted panic. One boy on the flight was reported to have had his shirt sucked off him after the window blew out.
Backlash Grows
Sanjiv Singh, who offers counsel for victims’ families had requested the DoJ to independently appoint a corporate monitor of Boeing instead of permitting the company to nominate its own candidates. Singh said, “I am stunned that the department deflected our demand and fell back on ‘oh it’s policy’.”
Relatives of those who died “will strenuously object to this plea deal”, attorney Paul Cassell, said. He added, “The deal will not acknowledge, in any way, that Boeing’s crime killed 346 people.”
What Families Want
Families of the Boeing victims had previously asked for prosecutions and a $24.8 billion fine for what they described as “the deadliest corporate crime in US history.”
Zipporah Kuria, whose father was killed in the 2019 crash, said she will “continue to press the US government to hold Boeing and its corporate executives criminally responsible for the deaths of 346 people.”
“Shameful” Deal
An attorney for some of the relatives who lost their lives on Boeing flights, Erin Applebaum, said the plea deal was “shameful” and “completely fails to mention or recognize the dignity” of victims.
Applebaum added, “when there is inevitably another Boeing crash and DoJ seeks to assign blame, they will have nowhere else to look but in the mirror.”
Boeing Whistle-Blower Speaks Out
Previously, a former engineer at Boeing said the company had taken safety shortcuts in order to produce as many planes as possible.
The whistle-blower, Sam Salehpour, testified in front of the US Senate and said Boeing was “putting out defective airplanes.” He said he was effectively told to “shut up” by company higher-ups.
Starliner: Boeing’s Headache Grows
After growing controversy owing to the Boeing crashes and emergency landing, the company earned a rare moment of positive PR after they successfully sent two astronauts into space last month.
Since then, however, the Starliner mission has become another headache for Boeing; with the two astronauts now “stranded in space” without a timeline in place for their return.
