Aviation Judge approves Boeing deal with Washington over Max crashes
Boeing will face no further prosecution over two fatal crashes of 737 Max airplanes following a US court ruling.
06.11.2025, 17:00
SDA
The responsible judge in the state of Texas approved a corresponding agreement between the aircraft manufacturer and the US Department of Justice. Boeing will pay a further 1.1 billion US dollars as part of the deal.
The accidents in October 2018 and March 2019 claimed the lives of 346 people. The main cause was assistance software that was intended to support pilots but interfered too much with the controls in certain circumstances. During the certification of the 737 Max by US authorities, employees of the aircraft manufacturer had declared special training for the software to be unnecessary.
Under the agreement, Boeing is to pay a further fine of 243.6 million dollars and contribute an additional 444.5 million dollars to a fund for surviving dependents. 455 million dollars are to be spent on improving safety and quality. At the same time, the judge rejected the request of some victims' families to appoint a special investigator.
Incident triggered new investigations
At the time, the company avoided prosecution by promising to implement measures against fraud and an ethics program, among other things. The company also paid an initial fine of 243.6 million dollars and 500 million dollars to victims' families.
Then a dramatic incident occurred in January 2024, when a fragment of the fuselage of a virtually new Boeing broke off during a climb. Thanks to the skill of the pilots and fortunate circumstances, no one was seriously injured. However, the US Department of Justice subsequently came to the conclusion that Boeing had violated the terms of the agreement on the two Max crashes and reopened the criminal proceedings.
Judge overturns first new agreement
In July 2024, Boeing pleaded guilty to defrauding the US government in the certification of aircraft. This opened the door for a new agreement, which included a further multi-million fine and a Department of Justice watchdog for the company.
Families of victims of the crashes strongly criticized the deal and demanded billions in fines and other consequences for Boeing. The court in Texas subsequently rejected the new agreement.
