The US Department of Justice plans to propose that Boeing plead guilty to fraud in connection with two fatal plane crashes involving the 737 Max jetliner, according to two people who interviewed federal prosecutors on Sunday describing the offer.
Boeing has until the end of next week to accept or reject the offer, with the giant aerospace company agreeing to an independent regulator that would oversee compliance with anti-fraud laws, they said.
The Justice Department informed the families of 346 people killed in the 2018 and 2019 crashes about the offer in a video conference, according to Mark Lindquist, one of the attorneys representing families suing Boeing, and another person who heard the call with the prosecutors.
During the meeting, family members expressed anger that prosecutors wanted to offer Boeing the chance to plead guilty to a three-year-old charge instead of pursuing additional charges and a trial. One said prosecutors were tricking the families; another shouted at them for several minutes when he had a chance to say something.
“We’re angry. They should just prosecute,” said Massachusetts resident Nadia Milleron, whose 24-year-old daughter, Samya Stumo, died in the second of two 737 Max crashes. “They say we can take it to court.”
Prosecutors told the families that if Boeing rejects the settlement offer, the Justice Department will file a lawsuit.
Boeing declined to comment.
The meeting took place weeks after prosecutors told a federal judge that the US aerospace giant had broken the law January 2021 agreement that had shielded Boeing from criminal charges related to the crashes in Indonesia And in Ethiopia.
Some legal experts say a conviction could jeopardize Boeing’s status as a federal contractor. The company has major contracts with the Pentagon and NASA.