A federal judge on Thursday dismissed criminal charges against Boeing in connection with two 737 Max aircraft crashes that killed 346 people, according to court filings.
Boeing and the U.S. Department of Justice reached a $1.1 billion settlement agreement in May that will go toward paying a criminal penalty, the victims’ beneficiaries fund and improving the manufacturer’s compliance, safety and quality programs.
The agency later that same month filed a motion requesting the court to dismiss the charges because the non-prosecution agreement holds Boeing accountable, benefits the public and resolves a “complex case” that would have an uncertain outcome.
“We are committed to honoring the obligations of our agreement with the Department of Justice,” Boeing said in emailed statement. “We are also committed to continuing the significant efforts we have made as a company to strengthen our safety, quality, and compliance programs.”
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor said in his ruling that the non-prosecution agreement fails to gain the necessary accountability to guarantee the flying public’s safety. However, he added that the DOJ acted in “good faith motivated by the interest of justice.” The judge also said the agency has fulfilled its obligations under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act. The law authorizes the plane victims’ families not to be excluded from public court proceedings, to discuss the case with the DOJ and to be informed of a plea bargain or prosecution agreement promptly.
The agency spoke with the victims’ families about the non-prosecution agreement and noted that some families supported it and others opposed it, O’Connor wrote. The DOJ also informed the families that Boeing accepted the agreement before telling the court.
Attorneys for the families said on Thursday they plan to file an appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn O’Connor’s decision.
“Judge O’Connor recognized that there are, in his words, ‘compelling’ arguments against the non-prosecution deal,” Paul Cassell, one of the attorneys representing the victims’ families, said in a statement. “But he reluctantly concluded that he was powerless to do anything about the reprehensible deal. We believe that the courts don’t have to stand silently by while an injustice is perpetrated.”
Chris Moore, whose 24-year-old daughter, Danielle, was killed in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash in 2019, alleged that the DOJ has not had open discussions with the families and that some parties met in secret.
“We demand that the DoJ be transparent with us,” Moore said in a statement. “We demand justice. Boeing failed in doing their job; FAA was asleep at the switch; the DoJ abnegated their core value of justice: knaves all three.”
Boeing may have succeeded in getting the criminal charges dismissed, but the plane manufacturer is now defending itself in a U.S. District Court in Illinois. Families of the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash victims filed lawsuits against the company in 2019, which were later consolidated. A jury has been selected and the families of three victims in the 2019 crash settled before the trial began Nov. 5.
“The decedent’s survivors, beneficiaries, and heirs, pray for judgment in their favor against Boeing for damages, costs, fees, and all other awards deemed just,” the 2019 court filing said.
