Boeing Agreed to Plead Guilty to Victims in 737 Max Crashes
- Mike Siegel/The Seattle Times
Washington – Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to fraud in 2018 and 2019 to settle investigations into the 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The plane maker also agreed to invest at least $455 million or around IDR 7,3 trillion over the next three years to strengthen its safety and compliance programs.
Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud charges to end the Justice Department's investigation into the two 737 MAX crashes. Reuters writes about this based on the government's statement in the court filing.
The charges relate to two 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia within five months of 2018 and 2019, which killed 346 people. Victims' families have urged Boeing to demand justice.
In a petition filed by the victims' families asking Boeing to be held accountable, the plane maker should be charged as a criminal.
Petugas gabungan Basarnas, PMI, dan Polri mengevakuasi puing pesawat Lion Air JT 610 pascakecelakaan, di Pelabuhan Tanjung Priok, Jakarta
- ANTARA FOTO/Indrianto Eko Suwarso
Boeing will pay $2,5 million or around IDR 40,6 trillion in criminal fines, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a document filed in federal court in Texas.
A representative of Boeing confirmed that it has reached an agreement in principle with the Department of Justice on the resolution.
The plane maker also agreed to invest at least $455 million over the next three years to strengthen its safety and compliance programs.
A guilty plea could jeopardize the company's ability to secure lucrative government contracts from organizations such as the US Department of Defense and NASA.
Boeing was prosecuted after the Justice Department found in May that the company violated a 2021 settlement agreement related to the fatal crashes.
The Ministry of Justice also appoints an inspector to monitor company compliance. The monitor must publicly submit annual reports on the company's activities to the court.
A total of 346 people died in plane crashes , one in Indonesia in 2018 and the other in Ethiopia in 2019. In particular, in October 2018 , there were 189 passengers of the Lion Air airline. plane Thirteen minutes after takeoff from Jakarta , the plane crashed into the Java Sea.
In March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed six minutes after takeoff from the country's capital, Addis Ababa. All 157 people on board died.
Both crashes have been confirmed to be related to malfunctions of flight control systems, as quoted from Azon site.
