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The Just Us Department thinks they can make a huge part of the Boeing mess go away with a deal, quickly and quietly. The DOJ is all set to offer Boeing a plea for “the criminal case over two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max jetliners.” When one of the lawyers representing the families of the crash victims got word of the potential agreement, he scrambled to the press. There’s no way his clients are going to let the company off the hook that easy, not if they can help it.
Sweetheart deal for Boeing
If Merrick Garland and his federal prosecutors get their way, the deal would let Boeing off with “a fine of about $244 million.” Someone would be subject to “three years of probation and oversight from an external monitor.” Attorney Paul Cassell is perturbed.
He represents “15 families of victims who were killed in 2018 and 2019 crashes involving Boeing’s 737 Max jetliners.” Those crashes killed 346 people and Boeing suits get to walk away. Right after their insurance company writes a big check.
Nobody knew anything about the arrangement until Sunday afternoon. That was when a call was made to discuss the settlement with families. To reassure everyone, the company promises “a new investment in safety improvements and a meeting between Boeing’s board and the victims’ families.”
Families of the victims of two fatal Boeing crashes are tonight furious at the prospect of a "plea deal", between the U-S Justice Department and the aviation giant. #9News pic.twitter.com/yYG6cPTdcM
— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) July 1, 2024
According to Cassell, “his team was told Boeing would be offered the deal immediately after Sunday’s call ended.” He also described it as a “sweetheart deal.”
It lets the aircraft manufacturer totally off the hook on a number of important issues. “The deal will not acknowledge, in any way, that Boeing’s crime killed 346 people.”
“It also appears to rest on the idea that Boeing did not harm any victim,” Cassell explains in a statement. “The families will strenuously object to this plea deal.”
More justice than this
Simply throwing money at families of the victims isn’t the proper thing to do. “The memory of 346 innocents killed by Boeing demands more justice than this,” Cassell declares. It’s up to Boeing to accept or reject the deal.
They have until the end of this week to make up their mind. Nobody expects them to turn it down. Phone calls to the DOJ and to Boeing from the press went unanswered.
This isn’t the only criminal case Boeing has clogging up the courts. Before this action, “the department found Boeing violated a 2021 settlement related to the two fatal crashes.”
“The death of 346 people really deserves more justice than what we’re seeing”.
Boeing is to be offered a plea deal by the DoJ over deadly 737 Max plane crashes.
Zipporah Kuria’s father died in the Boeing 737 Max Ethiopian Airline flight that crashed in October 2019. #Boeing pic.twitter.com/7QBAz4aMbP
— Yalda Hakim (@SkyYaldaHakim) July 1, 2024
That deal “shielded the company from criminal liability for fraud in exchange for a promised overhaul of its compliance system and a $2.5 billion fine.” Apparently, they didn’t do much of an overhaul. They can’t even make sure the door panels are bolted on properly.
DOJ prosecutors are still deciding whether or not to recommend “Boeing face criminal charges for violation of the settlement.” Deal or not, the department only has until July 7 to “charge the aerospace giant.”
Boeing thinks that they’re in full compliance with the agreement so aren’t worried. “We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue.“
