Federal officials met with family members of victims from two Boeing 737 Max crashes on Friday, discussing the possibility of reviving criminal charges against Boeing. Despite their appeals, relatives received no assurances from the Justice Department on whether Boeing will face prosecution this fall.
The Justice Department previously determined that Boeing had breached a 2021 agreement that initially helped the company avoid criminal charges. Under this deal, Boeing paid $2.5 billion—primarily as compensation to airlines—to sidestep a fraud charge stemming from its misleading of regulators during the Boeing 737 Max approval process.
Relatives of the 346 victims from the 2018 and 2019 crashes have persistently sought to overturn this settlement. Their efforts gained traction when a new incident in January, involving a door plug detaching from a Max jet during an Alaska Airlines flight, prompted further scrutiny of Boeing’s safety assertions.
“They claimed the Max is completely safe, it’s the most-scrutinized plane ever, even as the doors blow off on the Alaska Air (Max), and they can’t blame the pilots anymore,” Michael Stumo, whose daughter Samya died in one of the crashes, remarked on Boeing’s safety claims.
The Department of Justice remains silent on its next steps but has acknowledged Boeing’s failure to implement required reforms aimed at detecting and preventing breaches of anti-fraud laws. Meanwhile, Boeing faces additional credibility issues after revealing that employees at a South Carolina facility falsified inspection documents for several 787 Dreamliner jets.
A Boeing spokesperson stated, “We believe that we have honored the terms of the agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Justice Department on this issue.” The company also emphasized its commitment to “utmost transparency” in addressing inquiries from the Justice Department, including those related to the recent Alaska Airlines incident.