On Sunday, Boeing, headed by CEO David Calhoun, accepted the terms of of the Department of Justice regarding the company’s response to two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019.
The crashes occurred in part due to malfunctioning flight-control software.
They will plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government for allegedly violating a deferred-prosecution agreement filed in 2021 that required it to make necessary changes to its manufacturing operations. It avoids a criminal trial.
Boeing will also pay a $487 million fine in addition to the settlement. They agreed to pay $455 million into programs to increase compliance. Its board of directors will meet with hundreds of people who lost family members in the crashes.
Boeing also paid over $240 million in fines and $500 million to the victims’ families.
Also, Boeing cannot commit any crimes during the three years following the crashes. So they can’t commit crimes for three years. Okay then.
A government agent will monitor them for three years for safety and adherence to the deal.
That’s about what they fined Donald Trump for allegedly appraising his real estate too high. So, it’s better to kill people?
Families Are Unsatisfied
The New York Times reported that a lawyer for over a dozen of the families said that the agreement does not go far enough and is “clearly not in the public interest.”
“This sweetheart deal fails to recognize that because of Boeing’s conspiracy, 346 people died,” Paul Cassell lamented. “Through crafty lawyering between Boeing and the DOJ, the deadly consequences of Boeing’s crimes are being hidden.”
The cases were focused on two Boeing employees who did not disclose information about software involved in the crashes to the FAA.
Attorneys Said the Punishment Was Not Enough
One of the other attorneys for victims’ families, Mark Lindquist, was unsatisfied.
“Victims’ families and their lawyers would have preferred to see a much more vigorous resolution,” said Mark Lindquist, an attorney representing some of the victims of the crashes that occurred in 2018 and 2019.
The DoJ claimed in a letter:
“The proposed plea agreement was based in part on the feedback that the Government had previously received during conferral sessions and communications with the families and airline customers.”
The deal doesn’t cover any employees, just the company. There is no immunity for other incidents.
Maybe Boeing should dump DEI.
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