Boeing will get a ‘sweetheart’ plea deal, says lawyer representing 737 Max crash victims

The US Justice Department is nearing an agreement with Boeing that would include a corporate monitor and a fine in exchange for a guilty plea to criminal charges — an offer the lawyer representing the families of victims of two fatal 737 Max crashes harshly rebuked as a “sweetheart deal.”

The US Justice Department is nearing an agreement with Boeing that would include a corporate monitor and a fine in exchange for a guilty plea to criminal charges, according to lawyers representing the families of victims of two fatal 737 Max crashes, who harshly rebuked the offer as a “sweetheart deal.” The criminal charges and potential plea deal come after repeated safety failures at Boeing that have resulted in multiple federal investigations and a sharp rebuke from airlines, customers, lawmakers and regulators. Criminal charges against a major corporation like Boeing are rare and would represent a serious blow to the company’s already precarious financial situation and further damage its battered reputation. But the victims’ families said they were furious that Boeing may avoid trial, saying the government is letting the company off the hook for the deaths of their loved ones. “I can tell you that the families are very unhappy and angered with DOJ’s decisions and proposal,” said Robert Clifford, lead counsel in the civil litigation against Boeing, in a statement. “There is no accountability, no admission that Boeing’s admitted crime caused the 346 deaths, and the families will most certainly object before Judge Reed O’Connor and ask that he reject the plea if Boeing accepts.” Clifford and Paul Cassell represent many family members of the 2018 Lion Air crash and 2019 Ethiopian Air crash victims of Boeing 737 Max jets. They and some of the families they represent were briefed by the Justice Department Sunday about the plea deal. The deal would include three years of probation, a “small” fine and and a monitor to ensure safety compliance, Cassell told CNN. Other specific terms of the proposed offer were not immediately known, and CNN has not reviewed the proposal first-hand. Bloomberg first reported the potential plea deal Sunday.