The families of some of the victims of two Boeing 737 MAX plane crashes that resulted in the deaths of 346 people asked a U.S. appeals court to reverse a judge’s decision to dismiss a criminal case against the aviation giant on Nov. 13.
However, despite approving the request, O'Connor criticized the DOJ’s decision, saying he did not agree that dropping the case, which had been pursued under the Biden administration and initially resulted in an admission of guilt, was in the public interest.
O’Connor wrote in his memorandum accompanying the order to dismiss the case that the “argument that the government’s agreement in this case is contrary to public interest, while compelling, cannot justify denying leave to dismiss.”
The families had argued that the Non-Prosecution Agreement (NPA), which Boeing reached with the DOJ, was insufficient to ensure that the company’s safety lapses would be addressed.
O’Connor appeared to agree with these concerns, even as he acknowledged that the law required dismissal and the court could not second-guess the government’s policy judgments.
“It does not even pretend to address the need for a truly independent compliance monitor given Boeing’s troubling history ... the [victims’ families] are correct that this agreement fails to secure the necessary accountability to ensure the safety of the flying public,” wrote O’Connor.
The families have now asked the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse his decision, arguing that the DOJ violated their rights as crime victims when it agreed to a deferred prosecution deal with Boeing over a fraud charge connected to false representations the company made to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Cassell went on to say that his clients believed that “the courts don’t have to stand silently by while an injustice is perpetrated.”
“The charges against Boeing cannot simply be dropped,” he added.
The two incidents ended up killing a combined total of 346 passengers and crew.
The cause of those crashes, as acknowledged by Boeing, was an error in its automated flight control system that pushed the aircraft’s nose down during takeoff—errors that Boeing concealed from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during the aircraft’s pre-certification inspections.
Boeing also previously admitted fault to the charges against it in the NPA reached with the federal government during the first Trump administration.
Last year, the company agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge.
Under the deal, Boeing was allowed to avoid being convicted of its felony charges, but the plane manufacturer will have to pay additional fees, including $444.5 million for a crash victims’ fund to be divided evenly among each victim, and another $243.6 million fine.
In a separate case, a jury in Chicago on Nov. 13 ordered the company to pay more than $28 million to the family of Shikha Garg, a United Nations environmental worker who was killed in the Ethiopian Airlines crash.
A deal reached between the parties means the family will receive $35.85 million, the full verdict amount plus 26 percent interest, and Boeing will not appeal.
The Epoch Times has contacted Boeing for comment.
