The agreement was filed hours ahead of the deadline for Boeing to respond to the offer and avert a criminal trial. Boeing confirmed to The Hill it reached a deal but had no further comment.
Under the deal, which still requires a federal judge’s approval, Boeing agreed to pay a $487.2 million fine and invest at least $455 million in its safety and compliance programs, according to the filing in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
It comes nearly two months after the DOJ found Boeing violated a 2021 settlement related to two crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving Boeing’s 737 Max jetliners. The crashes killed 346 people.
Prosecutors in 2021 alleged Boeing committed conspiracy to defraud the government by misleading regulators about a flight-control system involved in the crashes. Under the 2021 settlement, the DOJ agreed not to prosecute Boeing on the crash for three years, but it found in May the company breached the terms of the agreement.
Boeing also came under national scrutiny last January, when a door blew out of a 737 Max 9 aircraft while in the air. The blowout caused a hole in the side of the aircraft, and pilots were forced to make an emergency landing back at Portland International Airport in Oregon.
The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded all 737 Max 9 aircraft and launched a probe into the manufacturer. It found issues with safety checks and manufacturing in Boeing’s build process, prompting increased pressure from regulators and Congress to address the problems.
The Hill’s Miranda Nazzaro digs further here.
