Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after the U.S found the company violated a deal meant to reform it after two fatal crashes by its 737 Max planes that killed 346 passengers and crew.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) said the plane-maker had also agreed to pay a criminal fine of $243.6m, although the families of the people who died on the flights five years ago have criticised it as a “sweetheart deal” that would allow Boeing to avoid full responsibility for the deaths.
By pleading guilty, Boeing will avoid the spectacle of a criminal trial – something that victims’ families have been pressing for.
The company has been in crisis over its safety record since two near-identical crashes involving 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019, which led to the global grounding of the plane for more than a year.
