346 people died Boeing admits fraud before fatal crashes

The two crashes of a Boeing 737 Max with hundreds of fatalities are still haunting the US aircraft manufacturer years later. Now there is a new fine and a government watchdog.

DPA

08.07.2024, 09:16

dpa

Boeing pleads guilty to defrauding the US government to avoid a court case over two fatal crashes of 737 Max aircraft. This is according to a document from the US Department of Justice for the competent federal court in Texas. The consequences are a new multi-million fine and a government watchdog for the US aircraft manufacturer.

The accidents in October 2018 and March 2019 claimed the lives of 346 people. At the time, Boeing had avoided prosecution by promising to implement a compliance and ethics program, among other things. The company also paid a fine of 243.6 million dollars. The Department of Justice concluded back in May that Boeing had violated the terms of the deal at the time.

New investigation after dramatic incident in January

One trigger for this was the near-accident in January, in which a fuselage fragment of a virtually new Boeing aircraft broke off during a climb. No one was injured in the incident. However, the fact that the seats next to the hole in the fuselage were not occupied by a lucky coincidence also contributed to the accident.

The 2018 and 2019 crashes were caused by aircraft software that was supposed to support pilots but interfered with the controls more than they expected. It steered the aircraft towards the ground - and the pilots of the two planes were ultimately unable to straighten them out again. Aircraft of this type were not allowed to fly for almost two years until the error in the software was rectified.

Boeing was subsequently accused of fraud in criminal proceedings because employees of the aircraft manufacturer had declared special training for the software unnecessary when the type was certified by US authorities.

According to the court documents published late on Sunday, Boeing is to invest at least 455 million dollars in compliance and safety programs following the guilty plea. A penalty payment of a further 243.6 million dollars is also due. The agreement will only take effect once it has been approved by the court in Texas, where the case is being heard.

Survivors demand harsher penalties

Even after such a turn of events had become apparent in recent weeks, families of the crash victims had sharply criticized the prospect of a new agreement with Boeing and called for a billion-dollar fine. They are to have a meeting with the Boeing Board of Directors. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun had apologized to the relatives a few weeks ago and stressed that the company bore responsibility for the crashes.