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BREAKING: Boeing pleads NOT GUILTY in Texas court to misleading regulators about “problems” with the 737 Max control system that led to two plane crashes that killed 346 people
- Aircraft maker Boeing has pleaded not guilty to charges that the manufacturer misled federal authorities about the safety of its 737 MAX planes.
- Boeing safety director Mike Delaney was placed on the innocent list Thursday.
- The guilty plea comes after the families of 350 killed in the two high-profile accidents rejected a plea agreement and called for more transparency into the company’s safety.
Aircraft maker Boeing has pleaded not guilty to charges that the manufacturer misled federal authorities about the safety of its 737 MAX planes after two high-profile crashes in 2018 and 2019.
Boeing’s chief safety officer, Mike Delaney, pleaded not guilty on behalf of the planemaker at an arraignment Thursday. A plea of not guilty is standard in deferred prosecution agreements.
US District Judge Reed O’Connor last week ordered Boeing to appear for arraignment after ruling that the people killed in the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes, which occurred in Indonesia and Ethiopia, were are legally considered “victims of crime.”
The two accidents killed a total of 346 people and grounded all Max planes around the world for nearly two years. They also cost Boeing more than $20 billion and prompted a 20-month suspension of the best-selling aircraft.
The aircraft maker has pleaded not guilty to charges that the manufacturer misled federal authorities about the safety of its 737 MAX plane after two crashes in 2018 and 2019.
The manufacturer’s not guilty plea comes after the families of 350 people who died in the two high-profile crashes called for greater transparency about the safety of the best-selling plane. Pictured are family members and their attorney Paul Cassell (center) outside the hearing in Forth Worth
They were cleared to fly again after Boeing overhauled an automated flight control system that erroneously activated in both crashes.
The families of the nearly 350 killed in the 2018 crash in Indonesia and the 2019 crash in Ethiopia have opposed a plea agreement issued last week and want O’Connor to appoint an independent monitor to oversee Boeing’s compliance.
They also require the judge to impose a standard condition that Boeing not commit new crimes and disclose to the public, to the extent possible, the steps its corporate compliance office has taken since 2021 to prevent such incidents.
US District Judge Reed O’Connor last week ordered Boeing to appear for arraignment after ruling that the people who died in the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes are legally considered “crime victims.”
Under a 2021 agreement with the Justice Department, he agreed not to prosecute the company for conspiracy to defraud the government.
Both Boeing and the Justice Department have since opposed reopening the settlement, under which the planemaker doled out $500 million in compensation to the victims, a $243.6 million fine and compensation of $1.7 billion to airlines that grounded their fleets.
In a court filing in November, the Justice Department said it did not oppose Boeing’s prosecution, but said that undoing the agreement would “impose serious hardship on the parties and on the many victims who have received compensation.”
Boeing also said in court documents that it opposes any effort to reopen the deal, calling it “unprecedented, unfeasible and unfair.”
The Arlington, Virginia-based aircraft maker declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com.
Investigators with the US National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) examine debris at the crash site of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 on March 12, 2019 in Bishoftu, Ethiopia.