Boeing 737 Max: DOJ Deal Avoids Prosecution
- The agreement allows Boeing to avoid a felony label but raises questions about accountability for the 346 deaths in the 737 MAX crashes and the company's safety practices.
- Justice Department (DOJ) has reached an agreement in principle with Boeing that will allow the aerospace giant to avoid prosecution related to the two fatal 737 MAX crashes...
- Under the agreement, Boeing will "pay or invest" over $1.1 billion, including a $487.2 million criminal fine, though $243.6 million already paid will be credited.The settlement also includes...
The DOJ reached a deal with Boeing to avoid prosecution related to the 737 MAX crashes, which killed 346 people.The agreement means the aerospace giant won’t face trial next month. Boeing will pay over $1.1 billion in fines and compensation following the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes. Victims’ families, however, criticize the deal. Read more about the impact and accountability in this News Directory 3 report. Discover what’s next for Boeing.
Boeing to Avoid Prosecution in 737 MAX Crashes Under DOJ Deal
Updated May 25, 2025
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has reached an agreement in principle with Boeing that will allow the aerospace giant to avoid prosecution related to the two fatal 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people.The deal, announced Friday, means Boeing, a major military contractor and U.S. exporter, will not face trial next month, as families of the victims had requested.
Under the agreement, Boeing will “pay or invest” over $1.1 billion, including a $487.2 million criminal fine, though $243.6 million already paid will be credited.The settlement also includes $444.5 million for a new fund for crash victims and $445 million for compliance, safety, and quality programs. the DOJ said the agreement is a “fair and just resolution that serves the public interest” and guarantees accountability while avoiding litigation risks.
The crashes, involving a Lion Air flight in October 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines flight less than five months later, led to a nearly two-year worldwide grounding of the 737 MAX. Boeing has been working to move past the incidents, but victims’ families have criticized previous agreements as insufficient. In 2022, a former Boeing chief technical pilot was acquitted on fraud charges related to the 737 MAX’s progress.
Paul Cassell, a lawyer representing victims’ families, criticized the deal, calling it “unprecedented and obviously wrong for the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history.” He added that his clients would object and hoped the court would reject the agreement. The DOJ said that while some relatives support the agreement, others wont Boeing to stand trial.
“This kind of non-prosecution deal is unprecedented and obviously wrong for the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history. My families will object and hope to convince the court to reject it,” Paul Cassell,lawyer for victims’ families said.
In 2021, during the Trump administration, Boeing reached a settlement to avoid prosecution, agreeing to pay a $2.51 billion fine. This included a criminal penalty, a fund for crash victims’ families, and compensation for airline customers. The new fund will be in addition to the previously established $500 million.
The 2021 settlement was set to expire shortly after a door panel blew out on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 in January 2024. U.S. prosecutors later accused Boeing of violating the 2021 settlement by failing to establish a compliance and ethics program. A federal judge rejected a subsequent plea deal, citing concerns with diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements for a corporate monitor.
the U.S. government had accused Boeing of misleading regulators about the flight-control system on the 737 MAX, which was implicated in the crashes. Messages revealed during investigations showed a former Boeing pilot boasting about deceiving regulators into approving training material.
What’s next
The DOJ intends to file a motion to dismiss the case onc the agreement is finalized, expected by the end of next week. The court will then consider whether to except the agreement, taking into account the objections of the victims’ families.