Boeing is seeking to withdraw its guilty plea related to a criminal fraud charge following two deadly 737 MAX crashes six years ago, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Citing “people familiar with the matter,” The Wall Street Journal reported that the aerospace manufacturer is hoping to benefit from “more lenient treatment” under President Donald Trump’s Justice Department.
After the crashes in 2018 and 2019, which killed a total of 346 people, the Justice Department accused Boeing of intentionally misleading safety regulators about a new software system on the MAX. An error with that system — the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS — caused the two fatal accidents.
In 2021, Boeing and the Justice Department entered into a deferred prosecution agreement that would have allowed the company to avoid a criminal conviction or guilty plea if it met certain conditions over the next three years. Days before that agreement expired, a panel blew off a 737 MAX plane midflight, leading to fresh concerns about Boeing’s quality and manufacturing processes.
The Justice Department determined in May that Boeing had violated the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement, leading to Boeing’s guilty plea in July.
The company and the Justice Department are still hammering out the details of what comes next.
In December, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor rejected a plea deal proposed by both parties. That deal would have required Boeing to pay a $244 million fine, commit $455 million to improve compliance, quality and safety programs and hire an independent monitor to oversee its processes.
O’Connor rejected the deal in part because the government said it would consider diversity when selecting an independent monitor.
“These provisions are inappropriate and against the public interest,” he wrote in the ruling.
Now, as Boeing reportedly prepares to withdraw its guilty plea, it seeks to forgo the independent monitor altogether, according to The Wall Street Journal.
That monitor was one of the few things that set the plea deal apart from the earlier deferred prosecution agreement, and something that the families who lost loved ones in the crashes had been hoping to see.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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