FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Boeing representatives and relatives of some of the passengers who died in the two Boeing 737 Max jet crashes met face-to-face in a Texas state court on Thursday and said the aerospace The giant will be charged with criminal charges. I thought it was resolved two years ago.
In a brief letter filed Wednesday, lawyers for the family accused Boeing of committing “the worst corporate crime in American history.”
The family was not consulted until Boeing struck a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice to avoid felony charges of fraud. A dozen people from multiple countries are expected to testify how the loss of a loved one has affected them.
There are two main stages to arraignment. Boeing files a petition, after which relatives of the passengers ask the court to impose conditions on Boeing similar to those imposed on criminal defendants.
In Wednesday’s filing, the family said those terms should include monitors selected by the court to assess whether Boeing is building a culture of safety and ethics, as promised to the government. , said that it is necessary to announce the measures to that end.
Boeing faces civil lawsuit, congressional investigation And it has taken a toll on businesses since crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed a total of 346 people. However, Boeing and his executives have avoided criminal prosecution after reaching a settlement between the company and the government in January 2021.
Boeing was indicted on a single count of defrauding the U.S. to get regulators to approve the MaxJet.But the outgoing Trump administration’s Justice Department has agreed to stay and drop charges against him if Boeing pays him $2.5 billion. — primarily against airlines, but including $243.6 million in fines — and three years without committing another crime.
U.S. District Court Judge Reid O’Connor orders Boeing to arraign After finding that the Justice Department violated the Victims Rights Act by not telling the family of the deceased about the secret negotiations with Boeing. has not ruled.
Attorney representing the family, Paul Cassel, hopes testimony by the relatives on Thursday will persuade the Justice Department to drop the settlement.
The Biden administration’s Justice Department did not object to the arraignment, but continues its agreement with Boeing that the settlement should stand. If so, the government would lose the ability to ensure that Boeing implements reforms designed to prevent future tragedy.
The first Max passenger flight was in 2017.The first crash occurred in October 2018 In Indonesia, in March 2019, another in Ethiopia.
Prior to both crashes, the automatic flight control system, which Boeing did not initially disclose to airlines and pilots, pushed the nose down based on bad sensor readings. Boeing has accused two former employees of misleading the Federal Aviation Administration about a system known by its acronym MCAS.
Only one former employee, who was a test pilot, has been charged in connection with Max.The jury in Judge O’Connor’s court acquitted Judge O’Connor last year.
