Boeing has reportedly agreed to pay $2.5 billion to end a DOJ criminal investigation and has admitted that employees deceived aviation regulators about safety issues that resulted in two deadly crashes of the 737 MAX.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Boeing has agreed to pay $2.5 billion in order to settle a Justice Department criminal investigation and has admitted that its employee deceived aviation regulators about safety issues that ultimately resulted in two deadly crashes of the 737 MAX plane.
The investigations were launched following two 737 MAX crashes, one in Indonesia in 2018 and one in Ethiopia in early 2019.
The settlement was filed on Thursday in Dallas federal court and will end a legal battle that has followed the company for the last two years. Federal prosecutors have been investigating the role of two Boeing employees who interacted with the FAA about the design of the 737 MAX and how much pilot training was needed to fly the aircraft.
The settlement includes a $224 million fine and almost $2.3 billion in compensation to airline customers and families of the 346 people who died in the two MAX crashes. The plane manufacturer was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. but it will avoid prosecution on that charge which will allow it to stay eligible for federal contracts as long as there is no further legal trouble for the company in the next three years.
The settlement also calls for Boeing to comply with any current investigations including probes by foreign law enforcement and regulatory authorities. The company is further instructed to improve its compliance programs.
The FAA is still conducting a civil investigation of Boeing’s activities and could levy additional fines and penalties against the company.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com