Boeing offered 737 MAX plea deal, lawyer of crash victims' families says

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Boeing a plea deal that will allow it to avoid a trial related to two deadly 737 MAX crashes, a lawyer for the victims' families said Sunday, expressing outrage.

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Details of the deal, which requires Boeing to pay a fine and submit to an outside supervisor, were given to the families in a two-hour presentation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Sunday, said Paul Cassell, a University of Utah law professor who represents the families.

He said the families «will strenuously object» to the agreement, if Boeing ultimately accepts and it is presented to a judge.

Contacted by AFP, Boeing declined to comment.

The New York Times reported over a week ago that prosecutors were eying such an alternative settlement, known as a deferred prosecution agreement, or DPA, but the DOJ said it had not yet made a decision.

In May, the DOJ concluded that Boeing could be prosecuted for violating a previous DPA reached following the two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, which claimed 346 lives.

Under that three-year deal, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle fraud charges related to the certification of the 737 MAX.

But the aviation giant came under renewed scrutiny early this year after a 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blew out mid-flight.

The January 5 incident brought Boeing's manufacturing processes