Beleaguered aircraft company Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to criminal conspiracy to commit fraud linked to two catastrophic crashes in a plea deal opposed by victims' families.
Under the deal, Boeing would pay a fine of $243.6 for defrauding safety regulators by violating an agreement after the crash of two 737 MAX planes that killed 346 people, according to court papers filed Sunday night by the Department of Justice.
Under the plea deal, an independent monitor would also oversee compliance with regulations at Boeing for three years during a probationary period. In addition, the company must invest at least $455 million in compliance and safety programs, according to a U.S. prosecutors' court filing late Sunday.
The plea deal must be approved by a federal judge, who could still reject all or part of it.
The Department of Justice sued Boeing last year after it argued that the company had violated an agreement in 2021 that it would make significant safety changes after the crashes in 2018 and 2019.
Families of victims filed a separate document in court concerning the agreement saying that they will object to the deal, CNN reported.
They "intend to argue that the plea deal with Boeing unfairly makes concessions to Boeing that other criminal defendants would never receive and fails to hold Boeing accountable for the deaths of 346 persons."
The families had sought an admission of fault in the crashes and wanted the company and executives to face trial, according to their attorney, Paul Cassell.
"This sweetheart deal fails to recognize that because of Boeing's conspiracy, 346 people died," Cassell said in a statement reported by the Associated Press. "Through crafty lawyering between Boeing and D.O.J., the deadly consequences of Boeing's crime are being hidden."
The plea deal covers only wrongdoing by Boeing before the crashes in Indonesia and in Ethiopia. It does not give officials immunity, or Boeing immunity for other incidents, including a panel that blew off a Max jetliner during an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon early this year.
The Department of Justice said in a statement reported by CNN that Boeing will be "required to make historic investments to strengthen and integrate its compliance and safety program. This criminal conviction demonstrates the department's commitment to holding Boeing accountable for its misconduct," it added.
