DOJ Says It May Drop Boeing Criminal Fraud Case Over 737 Max Crashes

The Justice Department said that a final decision has not yet been made.

A Boeing 737 Max jet prepares to land at Boeing Field following a test flight in Seattle, Sept. 30, 2020. Elaine Thompson/AP Photo

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said it may drop its criminal prosecution of Boeing over allegations that the company deceived federal regulators before two 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people.

In a May 17 filing, the DOJ said government officials met with families of some crash victims the previous day to discuss a potential pretrial resolution that would involve dismissing the criminal fraud charge against the aerospace giant.

The department told the families that no final decision had been made. It also noted that the families consistently advocated for a public trial and were opposed to a motion to dismiss the case.

Boeing faces a criminal fraud conspiracy charge stemming from two 737 Max crashes that occurred within five months of each other: one off the coast of Indonesia in October 2018 and another in Ethiopia in May 2019. All passengers and crew aboard both flights were killed.

Investigators linked both crashes to a flight control system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS.

Designed to automatically push the plane’s nose down if a sensor detected a stall, MCAS relied on input from a single angle-of-attack sensor. In both accidents, erroneous sensor readings activated MCAS, sending the aircraft into dives that the pilots were unable to recover from.

According to a 2019 report by the Joint Authorities Technical Review, a panel of experts from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other international aviation regulators, Boeing had removed information relating to MCAS functionality from a draft of the 737 Max flight manual. As a result, FAA officials responsible for certifying aircraft designs were “not fully aware of the MCAS function” and were “not in a position to adequately assess” the level of pilot training required to meet safety needs.

Federal prosecutors later stated that, due to this omission, aircraft manuals and pilot training materials used by U.S.-based airlines “lacked information about MCAS.”

In 2021, Boeing reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the DOJ that allowed it to avoid prosecution. The agreement included a $243.6 million criminal fine and commitments from Boeing to improve compliance and safety programs.

In May 2024, prosecutors alleged Boeing had violated the terms of that agreement by failing to implement promised reforms designed to prevent violations of federal anti-fraud laws. In response, Boeing agreed last July to a guilty plea deal, which included another $243.6 million fine, $455 million for safety and compliance improvements over the next three years, and oversight by a government-appointed independent monitor.

That plea deal was rejected in December by U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, who sided with victims’ families demanding a trial.

The judge took issue with the selection process for an independent monitor, saying that the diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) policies in the government and at Boeing could allow race or other diversity factors to influence the selection. He also criticized the agreement for excluding the court from any role in the monitor’s appointment.

“It is fair to say the government’s attempt to ensure compliance has failed. At this point, the public interest requires the court to step in,” O'Connor said in rejecting the deal. “Marginalizing the court in the selection and monitoring of the independent monitor as the plea agreement does undermine public confidence in Boeing’s probation.”

A trial in the case is currently scheduled to begin on June 23.

Boeing and the Justice Department did not respond to requests for comments by publication time.