(Daily360.com) The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has until July 7 to decide whether Boeing will face criminal charges for violating the terms of a settlement related to the 737 Max plane. Prosecutors on the case informed the DOJ of the violations and have recommended criminal charges against the company. The settlement from 2021 stipulated that Boeing pay $2.5 billion to airline consumers and individuals with family members who died in the two crashes.
As part of that settlement, Boeing agreed to create a “compliance and ethics program” that would be designed to help the company prevent violations of U.S. laws. According to the prosecutors, Boeing has not implemented this program.
In recent years there have been two crashes involving Boeing 737 planes operated by airlines from Ethiopia and Indonesia. These crashes killed 346 people during the years of 2018 and 2019. This required Boeing to stop flying the 737 Max for two years.
The cause of the crashes was a new design that caused the airplanes to be in danger if just one sensor failed. Under the settlement agreement, the company was protected from fraud charges for allegedly attempting to hide information regarding the operation of the new system. As prosecutors have determined that Boeing has not fulfilled the agreement, that opens the door for criminal charges against the company.
It is believed that Boeing could receive new charges in addition to the fraud charges from the alleged concealment of information that was revealed in the 2021 settlement. Boeing has received significant negative attention and press in the years that followed, which included a door blowing out from an Alaskan Airlines plane in the middle of the flight. It was also revealed that whistleblowers within the company had safety concerns that were not addressed by the company. Instead, the company retaliated against the employees who mentioned any issues with the safety of the airplanes.
Whistleblower Ed Pierson celebrated the news that Boeing may face criminal charges for their failure to respond to valid safety concerns.
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