Summary
- Boeing may avoid prosecution by US Justice Dept. after 737 MAX 8 issues, considering deferred plea deal with strict compliance monitoring.
- Violations of previous settlements include misleading safety regulators. Criminal charges pose high legal risk for Boeing, but a plea deal may be quicker.
- Conviction of fraud could restrict Boeing from government contracts, impacting revenue. FAA criticized for not grounding MAX 8 earlier.
Boeing could narrowly miss prosecution by the United States Justice Department after violating terms of a 2021 settlement that was about problems with the Boeing 737 MAX 8 variant, which led to two lethal plane crashes in 2018 and 2019, which led to many deaths. The department will decide by the end of the month, and so far, prosecutors have yet to make the final call or rule out if they will bring charges against the US plane maker.
According to a report by the New York Times, a negotiated resolution could be on the table, with Boeing considering a possible plea deal, in which the company would accept some blame; however, in the form of an agreement to defer prosecution or plea, the plane maker could admit wrongdoing, which would then include the appointment of independent monitors to review the current safety protocols.
Offering companies deferred prosecution is often used to impose strict monitoring of compliance obligations, where they could be accused of financial crimes or corruption, in comparison to convicting an organization, which would avoid the uncertainties of an ongoing criminal trial.
Violations of previous prosecutions
In May, prosecutors accused Boeing of violating a previous deferred prosecution when it failed to set up and maintain safety programs to prevent US anti-fraud law violations. Boeing admitted in court at the time that two of its employees did mislead federal air safety regulators about a part that caused the fault of the two fatal MAX 8 crashes.
Some department officials are concerned that criminal charges against Boeing will be high legal risk and that appointing an independent watchdog would be quicker and more efficient in overseeing the troubled plane makers’ ongoing safety, manufacturing, and quality control concerns. A decision that if the airline were to forgo criminal prosecution would be a big win for Boeing, alongside its customers, employees, and shareholders, given that such lawsuits could lead to companies filing for bankruptcy in the past.
Ongoing drama
Should Boeing be convicted of fraud, this would mean that the manufacturer would be restricted from entering into government, including military contracts for aircraft, which, unsurprisingly, makes a significant amount of revenue for Boeing. This would be yet another smack in the face for the plane maker, which has already been struggling with supply issues, alongside ongoing quality and safety issues for a range of its aircraft. Including examples of the Alaska Airlines flight, when a plug door blew out mid-flight as the aircraft took off over Portland, Oregon, earlier this year.
Photo: NTSB
With ongoing issues at Boeing, the Federal Aviation Administration has borne the brunt of increased criticism for not stepping in sooner and exercising increased oversight at Beoing since the MAX 8 crashes. The agency has been accused of failing to ground the MAX 8 after the first crash in Indonesia, where all 189 onboard a Lion Air flight perished when it crashed into the Java Sea. Instead, the variant was only grounded when a second flight crashed in 2019 over Ethiopia, where another 157 onboard were killed.
Should the Justice Department appoint a federal monitor to Boeing, this would send a concrete message to the manufacturer and the FAA that Boeing must be held accountable for its actions and ensure that safety and quality changes are made immediately.
Related
Despite Apology Boeing CEO Met With Outrage From 737 MAX Crash Victim Families At Senate Hearing
Calhoun faced some intense questions at the Senate hearing.