On May 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced plans to hold major meetings with victims of the two Boeing 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, which killed more than 340 people.
As Reuters reports, the aircraft manufacturer faces a trial on June 23. Last month, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg indicated that the company was in talks with the State Department to reach a settlement in the criminal fraud case. The charges against Boeing relate to alleged misrepresentation of a critical flight control system to regulators in safety reports, leading pilots to misunderstand the system's capabilities.
Boeing seeks settlement before court date
Kelly Ortberg expressed his awareness of his company's tarnished reputation. Settling this lawsuit may be the best way for Boeing to restore its image.
At a Senate hearing in April, Ortberg expressed hope for a new agreement soon. The Department of Justice announced that the planned meeting on Friday will give the victims' families the opportunity to speak directly with department representatives. The meeting will take place via video call, but further details were not disclosed.
Admission of guilt and previous agreement
In July of last year, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to one count of criminal conspiracy and fraud after two crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia claimed hundreds of lives.
The aircraft manufacturer was fined over $480 million. As part of this agreement, Boeing committed to spending more than $450 million to improve its safety culture and compliance practices. The company was sentenced to three years of court-supervised probation and to monitoring by an independent monitor for the same period.
Criticism of the previous agreement
Many relatives of the crash victims have voiced criticism, arguing that the agreement does not fully hold Boeing accountable for its actions and the deaths of their loved ones. The two fatal crashes resulted in the grounding of the company's best-selling aircraft for more than 20 months, costing Boeing more than $20 billion. The 2024 agreement now being sought would brand Boeing as a convicted felon, as the company is accused of defrauding the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Specifically, Boeing is accused of failing to adequately inform the FAA about the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), software that could have fully controlled the aircraft. According to the Department of Justice, this software should have been fully disclosed during the Max certification process. The department originally found that Boeing had violated a 2021 agreement that protected the manufacturer from prosecution following the two incidents. The department subsequently decided to sue Boeing and negotiate a new agreement.
Further safety problems with the Boeing 737 Max
The two crashes are not the only safety-related incidents involving the Boeing 737 Max. In January 2024, an Alaska Airlines flight suffered an incident in which a door panel broke off in mid-air. While no passengers were injured, the incident generated considerable publicity and brought renewed attention to the aircraft manufacturer's poor safety reputation and safety culture. The aircraft involved was later found to be missing four critical bolts used to secure the panel.
This incident led to the grounding of certain Boeing 737 Max 9 models worldwide as part of ongoing inspections to ensure that similar incidents do not occur again. Last month, Boeing reached settlements with the families of two people killed in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash. It is notable that Boeing reached this agreement on the eve of the trial, demonstrating that the manufacturer is willing to negotiate to avoid a trial. The planned meeting with the victims could be another step toward a comprehensive resolution of the legal dispute.