Boeing is looking to retract its previous guilty plea agreement with the US Department of Justice in an ongoing criminal case linked to two fatal 737 MAX crashes, according to sources who have spoken to The Wall Street Journal.
The case accused Boeing of misleading regulators prior to the crashes of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610, which occurred in March 2019 and October 2018 respectively, resulting in a total of 346 fatalities, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Boeing faced criminal charges for allegedly conspiring to deceive the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aircraft Evaluation Group (AEG) during the assessment of the 737 MAX aircraft.
In court documents the company admitted that it had misled the FAA AEF, which was responsible for setting pilot training requirements for US airlines operating the 737 MAX.
On December 5, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas rejected the latest plea agreement proposed by the US Department of Justice and Boeing, which had been submitted to the court on July 24, 2024. As of the latest updates, no further court proceedings have been scheduled.
The manufacturer is currently requesting more favorable treatment from the Justice Department, which is reviewing several unresolved criminal cases that have not yet gone to trial or received court approval.
Boeing may gain from the new perspective of Donald Trump’s Justice Department, which is open to altering certain aspects of the agreement, according to sources speaking to The Wall Street Journal.
Both parties are still in discussions about how to present changes to the deal, which is due by April 11, 2025, to US District Judge Reed O’Connor who oversees the case.
O’Connor has said Boeing’s offence “may properly be considered the deadliest corporate crime in US history”.
In its renewed discussion with the Justice Department, Boeing is not looking to retract its pledge to invest approximately $400 million on safety and compliance improvements, as noted by the sources for The Wall Street Journal.