Lawyers for families of passengers killed in 737 Max crashes ask court to block Boeing plea deal
Families of some of the people killed in Boeing Max crashes are asking a judge to reject a plea agreement that the aircraft maker struck with the prosecutors
DALLAS — Lawyers for relatives of some of the people killed in Boeing Max jetliner crashes asked a federal judge on Wednesday to reject a plea agreement the aircraft maker struck with U.S. prosecutors, saying it is too lenient and lets Boeing avoid accountability for causing 346 deaths.
Some of the lawyers argued that the Justice Department has treated Boeing lightly because the company is a major contractor to the U.S. government.
Boeing agreed on July 7 to plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit fraud to settle allegations that it deceived Federal Aviation Administration regulators who approved the 737 Max and then broke a 2021 settlement that would have let the company escape criminal prosecution.
Under this month's deal, Boeing would pay a fine of at least $243.6 million, invest $455 million in compliance and safety programs, and be placed on probation for three years. The Justice Department and Boeing would pick a monitor to oversee the company's compliance.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, can accept the corporate plea agreement and the proposed sentence, or reject the deal, which likely would lead to new negotiations between Boeing and prosecutors.
Lawyers for relatives of some of the passengers killed in two 737 Max crashes — in Indonesia in 2018 and in Ethiopia in 2019 — asked the judge to reject the deal and instead schedule a jury trial within 70 days.
One of the lawyers, Paul Cassell, said “the only way to assure public confidence in the outcome here is for the court — not the parties — to determine the
Read more on abcnews.go.com
