In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to criminal fraud conspiracy charges after two fatal 737 maximum crashes
A US judge suddenly set a trial date on June 23 in a Justice Department criminal fraud case against Boeing, a result of a flat manufacturer’s alleged misrepresentation to U.S. regulators over a 737 Max critical system.
The judge set a trial date on Tuesday.
In July, Boeing pleaded guilty to criminal fraud conspiracy charges after two fatal 737 maximum crashes and agreed to pay a fine of up to $487.2 million. US District Judge Reed O’Connor previously held Boeing and the Department of Justice responsible for diversity and comprehensive provisions until April 11, and after rejecting previous contracts, he reached a new plea agreement.
In 2023, O’Connor said in Fort Worth, Texas, “Boeing crimes could be considered the most fatal corporate crime in US history.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Boeing is attempting to withdraw an existing plea agreement. O’Connor did not show why he set a trial date or why he retracted the previous April 11 deadline.
Boeing said Tuesday that the company and the Justice Department “continue to engage in a sincere discussion about appropriate resolutions on this issue.”
The Department of Justice did not immediately comment.
Last year, Boeing’s plea agreement included spending $455 million to improve safety and compliance practices, as well as three years of court supervision probation and three years of independent monitor supervision.
The relatives of the two 737 Max Crashes victims who occurred in 2018 and 2019 and killed 346 people, calling the plea agreement “lovers” and failed to properly hold Boeing responsible for the death of a loved one.
Erin Applebaum, the lawyer representing the 34 families killed in the 2019 Max Ethiopian Airlines crash, urged the Justice Department to “stand on the right side of history, refuse to negotiate further pleas and move forward with full prosecution.”
She added: “Families deserve a day in court and should not waste this opportunity for justice.”
The accepted plea deal will brand Boeing a felon convicted of conspiring to fraud the Federal Aviation Administration over problematic software that affects the flight control system of planes that crashed during Max’s certification.
In May, the Department of Justice found it violated a 2021 agreement that Boeing protected against prosecution against crash crashes. Prosecutors then decided to file a criminal complaint for Boeing and negotiate the current plea deal.
The decision followed an in-flight blowout of the door panels of the Alaska Airlines jet, on January 5, 2024, at Boeing, which revealed ongoing safety and quality issues.
Officials in President Donald Trump’s administration said regulators must be firm with Boeing after a string of mistakes.
“We need to make Boeing tougher, we need to be tougher in the industry,” said Steve Bradbury, who was confirmed as Associate Transportation Secretary this month.
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