Under the securities application, the U.S. Department of Justice reached an agreement with Boeing that would allow aircraft manufacturers to avoid prosecution of aviation regulators and provide federal judges with approval of the agreement.
The two parties signed last week and detailed the terms raised in a tentative agreement filed in court last month in a filing with the SEC on Wednesday.
It allowed Boeing to withdraw its earlier plea, angering family members who lost their loved ones in two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 737 Max that claimed 346 lives. Boeing will pay $444.5 million in compensation to families.
These families are fighting the deal in court. Boeing acknowledged in the securities filing the agreement that the case “complied with court litigation.” The attorney representing the family will inform the court by June 18 that Boeing and the Justice Department will have a week's reply.
Judge Reed O'Connor's ruling caused twists and turns in the case. In 2022, he ruled that these families meet the legal definition of victims of crime. Last December, he rejected the July plea agreement, citing diversity, fairness and inclusion provisions when choosing a standalone monitor, with too little oversight in courts.
But if O'Connor signs the latest deal, it will end the Justice Department's most harmful legal battle, which for years has frustrated the victim's families and has done everything possible to deceive Boeing's efforts to turn its business around.
The case stemmed from two crashes, causing regulators around the world to take root in jets. The reason can be traced back to flight control software, which repeatedly forces the nose of the aircraft toward the downward when the error is triggered.
Boeing agreed in July last year to plead guilty to one charge of deceiving the U.S. government misleading the FAA regarding software defects.
The Justice Department initially postponed Boeing’s prosecution in 2021 after it agreed to pay $2.5 billion. If the company works with the prosecutor and establishes a compliance program, the prosecutor agrees to resolve the case within three years.
But in January 2024, shortly before the plan to drop the charges, a door flew out of 737 maximums during commercial flights, and the prosecutor decided to file a lawsuit.