Boeing pleads guilty to criminal conspiracy over 737 Max disaster

Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to criminal conspiracy to defraud the US after the Justice Department concluded the aviation manufacturer failed to stick to an earlier settlement stemming from two fatal crashes of its 737 Max jetliner.

Under the agreement in principle with US prosecutors, Boeing faces a criminal fine of as much as $722 million, the maximum allowed by law, though the actual amount will be determined by a judge, according to the Justice Department.

As part of the agreement, the department has asked the judge to credit Boeing for the prior fine it paid, which would bring the new penalty down to $360m if approved.

The company will install a corporate monitor and be required to spend at least $674m to bolster its compliance and safety programs over the next three years.

It would also be subject to a period of court-supervised probation. The US government and Boeing are still finalising the pact and expect to file the final plea agreement by July 19.

The guilty plea marks a low point in the company’s century-long history after years of turmoil sparked by two crashes of its 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.

The agreement also has the potential to complicate Boeing’s interaction with the government as a major defence contractor and builder of the presidential aircraft, though the company is likely to seek a waiver or turnaround that allows it to keep doing business in those areas.

On the other hand, the deal stands to spare Boeing from the distraction of a criminal trial at a time when its finances are in disarray and its leadership is in limbo. The US company has been in crisis mode throughout the past six months after a near-catastrophic accident, which set of the chain reaction leading to the company’s guilty plea.

The Justice Department determined in May that Boeing breached a 2021 deferred-prosecution agreement tied to the crashes that was struck in the waning days of the Trump administration. That followed the blowout of a fuselage panel on a 737 Max 9 on January 5, just days before the deal was set to expire.

The DOJ later concluded Boeing failed to meet a requirement of that deal to implement an effective compliance program to prevent and detect violations of US fraud laws.

As a result of the fuselage mishap, Boeing’s management has been thrown into turmoil as its board searches for a new CEO.

The company’s finances are also showing the strain of a slowdown in production in the aftermath of the January accident, as it works to bolster quality and retrain workers under close supervision by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

The company has said it would probably burn through about $8 billion in cash during the first half of 2024.

In a brief statement, Boeing confirmed it had reached an agreement in principle on terms of a resolution with the Justice Department, subject to approval of specific terms. The planemaker in June had told prosecutors that it disagreed with the finding that it had violated the earlier deal.

As part of the 2021 deal, Boeing paid a criminal fine of $360m and admitted to deceiving the FAA about an obscure flight control system linked to the crashes.

The company also pledged to improve its internal safety controls. In return, the government would withdraw a criminal charge against the company after three years.

The latest agreement was bitterly criticised by families of the crash victims, who were not consulted before it was unveiled.

The families quickly filed a notice to object to the latest agreement, as well. As part of the new plea deal, Boeing’s board will meet with the relatives of the crash victims — a request previously made by the families.

Bloomberg.