The US Department of Justice has defended its plea deal with Boeing, stating it lacks evidence to prosecute the aircraft manufacturer for more serious crimes relating to the fatal crashes of B737-8s in 2018 and 2019
Boeing previously pled guilty to conspiring to defraud the US government in connection with the crashes, agreeing to a fine of up to USD243.6m to avoid a criminal trial
Relatives of the crash victims criticized the plea deal, calling for its rejection, but DOJ officials assert that the agreement holds Boeing accountable for the most serious provable offense
US District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas will decide whether to accept the plea deal or force new negotiations, with the DOJ indicating it cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Boeing’s fraud directly caused the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes; potential charges still looming for Boeing in the Alaska Airlines B737-9 incident.
