Two Democratic United States
senators, Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, have called out the Department of Justice ( DOJ
) for failing to hold Boeing and its executives accountable.

It was time to end the coddling of corporate executives at the expense of consumers and workers, they added.

Addressing the DOJ

The two senators sent a public letter to Merrick Garland, the Attorney General of the DOJ, and Lisa Monaco, the Deputy Attorney General of the DOJ.

According to Warren and Blumenthal, Boeing’s company culture has promoted short-term profit over passenger safety, and the DOJ’s refusal to prosecute individual executives has failed to change this culture.

“Serious safety issues continue to appear with Boeing planes, despite DOJ’s past efforts. In the past six years, Boeing has cycled through three different CEOs, each promising to improve safety at the company.”

Since the two fatal Boeing 737 Max
crashes and the consequent groundings, Dennis Muilenburg, David Calhoun, and now Kelly Ortberg have been at the helm of the company.

Boeing 737 MAX 7 taxiing at Renton

Photo: BlueBarronPhoto | Shutterstock

Ortberg eventually replaced Calhoun after the latter resigned as the company has struggled to climb out of its latest crisis following the Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 door plug blowout in January.

Despite this, Boeing’s employees and managers and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have continued to highlight safety concerns at the aircraft manufacturer, the two senators stated.

“It is past time for DOJ to take action against corporate executives at Boeing who are responsible for putting passengers and workers at risk in violation of federal laws and regulations.”

Recently, the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) published a memo in September about the various issues at Boeing and its main supplier for the 737 and other programs, Spirit AeroSystems
.

Blumenthal is a majority member of the PSI, which concluded that Boeing’s employees have been pressured to prioritize speed over quality, it has struggled to ensure proper training, properly handle nonconforming parts, and the company’s quality inspections and the FAA’s control of these inspections have continued to raise concerns at Boeing.

Criticizing Boeing’s plea deal

Warren and Blumenthal said that while the government has accused Boeing of prioritizing profits over safety, it has failed to properly pursue the company or its executives for their responsibility in compromising passenger safety.

The pair not only criticized the plea deal reached in January 2021 following the two fatal 737 MAX 8 crashes but also the subsequent plea deal the DOJ and Boeing had reached in July over the latter’s failure to honor the initial deferred prosecution agreement (DPA).

Boeing 737 MAX production line in Renton, Washington

Photo: Jonathan Hendry | Simple Flying

The DOJ, acting on behalf of the US government, accused Boeing of failing to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program that would have prevented and detected fraud within its operations, which was required by the January 2021 DPA.

The July plea deal, which was approved by Reed O’Connor, a district judge of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, included provisions for Boeing
to pay a $243.6 million fine, invest at least $455 million into its safety and compliance programs over three years, and welcome a government-appointed independent monitor during a three-year probationary period.

“However, the combination of a relatively small fine coupled with a toothless commitment to improve aircraft safety has proven insufficient to effect real change at the company.”

The two senators accentuated that a number of incidents have happened since the two fatal 737 MAX crashes, including the door plug blowout and the recent 737 rudder issues, over which the NTSB urged quick action from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Taking action against executives

Warren and Blumenthal continued by citing several examples of employees, whistleblowers, and experts criticizing the safety culture at Boeing, with the two saying that in 2024, there have been several additional serious incidents.

“These ongoing safety concerns demonstrate that Boeing executives appear not to have corrected serious safety shortcomings at the company.”

While the NTSB and FAA have stepped up in their investigations and oversight of Boeing, the DOJ has failed to bring the individuals responsible for the manufacturer’s safety failures to justice, the letter read.

The two Senators said that too often, the US criminal justice system has let corporations, and in particular, executives, remain unscathed for their criminal wrongdoing.

IMG_7782 - 737 MAX for Southwest Airlines in the Boeing Renton Factory

Photo: Jonathan Hendry | Simple Flying

Warren and Blumenthal cited Monaco, who said that the DOJ’s priority will continue to be individual accountability since companies can only act through individuals. Furthermore, Monaco stated that the rule of law demanded that those most culpable for a company’s misconduct are the ones being charged, prosecuted, and convicted.

The letter continued citing Monaco and her view that holding companies and individuals accountable should be the focus of the DOJ.

“This is an admirable goal, but achieving it requires diligent follow-through and action, not lip service. As such, we urge DOJ to thoroughly investigate Boeing’s safety failures, identify any individual executives who are criminally responsible for the company’s concerning safety culture, and, critically, hold them accountable.”

Warren and Blumenthal concluded that for too long, corporate executives have routinely escaped prosecution for criminal acts. This has resulted in consumers and workers being handed the short end of the stick, and it must end, the two stated.

Doors of the Renton, Washington facility where Boeing builds the 737 MAX shutterstock_1468457405

Photo: VDB Photos | Shutterstock

“We therefore urge you to carefully review the behavior and potential culpability of Boeing’s executives and hold criminally accountable any individuals that have promoted a culture at the company that disregards passenger safety in violation of federal laws and regulations.”

However, O’Connor, who oversaw the July plea deal proceedings, will hold a hearing on October 11, which will involve the 737 MAX fatal crashes victims’ families, according to O’Connor’s schedule.

The families and their counselor, Paul Cassell, have opposed the plea deal, saying that the fine was too small.

In June, Cassell argued that since the two fatal crashes produced losses in excess of $12.3 billion, the maximum possible fine that was legally justified and appropriate was $24.7 billion.

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