Boeing nears deal to avoid guilty plea in 737 MAX crashes case

Boeing has reached a tentative non-prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in a fraud case stemming from two fatal 737 MAX plane crashes that killed 346 people, people familiar with the matter said.

- 

The agreement would forestall a June 23 trial date the planemak-er faces on a charge it misled US regulators about a crucial flight control system on the 737 MAX, its strongest-selling jet.

The agreement would allow Boeing to avoid being branded a convicted felon and be a blow to families who lost relatives in the crashes and had pressed prosecutors to take the US planemaker to trial.

A felony conviction also could have threatened Boeing’s ability to secure lucrative government contracts with the likes of the US Defense Department and NASA, although it could have sought waivers.

Boeing had no immediate comment while the DOJ declined to comment.

Boeing in July had agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after the two fatal 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia spanning 2018 and 2019, and to pay a fine of up to $487.2 million.

But Boeing has no longer agreed to plead guilty in the case, prosecutors told family members of crash victims during a Friday meeting, the sources said. The company’s posture changed after a judge rejected a previous plea agreement in December, prosecutors told the family members.