Boeing in deal to avoid criminal responsibility for two crashes

Boeing reached a deal with the Justice Department on Friday that would spare the company from taking criminal responsibility for a pair of deadly 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019.

- NIRAJ CHOKSHI

Under the deal, which was staunchly opposed by many families of the victims of the fatal crashes, Boeing would admit to obstructing federal oversight, pay a fine, contribute to a fund for the families and invest in safety and quality programmes.

The deal is the latest twist in a years-long legal saga over the crashes, dating back to the final days of the first Trump administration. It reverses a different deal reached last summer, in which Boeing had agreed with the Justice Department under President Joe Biden to plead guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration.

The judge overseeing the case had asked the parties to revise the deal in December, criticising the process the agreement had laid out for the selection of an independent monitor who would make sure that Boeing was abiding by the deal. Boeing's admission in the new agreement that it obstructed the FAA would not constitute a guilty plea.