According to a filing in federal court on May 23, Boeing will avoid criminal charges linked to the fatal 737 MAX crashes of 2018-19 under a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) signed by the Trump administration’s Justice Department (DOJ) with the major US airframer and large defense contractor.
The NPA reverses course for Boeing, which agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge in a prospective settlement last year following the MAX door plug explosion tragedy on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on January 5, 2024. In December 2024, a Texas federal judge rejected the settlement because he disagreed with the agreement’s diversity, fairness, and inclusion clauses, leaving the Trump administration to determine how and whether to prosecute Boeing. The corporation faced a trial date of June 23.
“After careful consideration of the [MAX crash] families’ views, the facts and the law, the department’s Principles of Federal Prosecution and the professional and ethical obligations of prosecutors, the government judges that the agreement is a fair and just resolution that serves the public interest,” the lawyers for the Department of Justice said. “The agreement guarantees further accountability and substantial benefits from Boeing immediately while avoiding the uncertainty and litigation risk presented by proceeding to trial.”
Some MAX crash families stated the opposite in a statement sent by their pro bono counsel. “With this filing, the [DOJ] walks away from any pretense to seek justice for the victims of the 737 MAX crashes,” said Javier de Luis, whose sister died in the second MAX crash.
“In spite of the mountains of reports and investigations over the last six years documenting wrongdoing by Boeing, the [DOJ] is claiming that they cannot prove that anybody did anything wrong,” de Luis said in a prepared statement. “The message communicated by this action to businesses across the country is: ‘Don’t be concerned about making your products safe for your customers. Even if you kill them, simply pay a little fine and go on.”
Boeing will spend approximately $1.1 billion on itself, penalties, and victim families under the new agreement. Boeing will pay an additional $243.6 million in penalties, more than twice the amount it paid before in a fine included in a January 2021 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) signed in the final days of the first Trump administration. Boeing is also accountable for $444.5 million for another “crash victims beneficiaries fund,” which will be shared “evenly” by crash victims, according to the DOJ. The latter is in addition to a $500 million benefit fund for crash victims established by Boeing under the DPA. Finally, Boeing plans to spend $455 million on improving its compliance, safety, and quality initiatives.
According to the petition, Boeing will be obliged to hire an independent compliance consultant who will be able to make recommendations for further improvement and submit its results directly to the government.
“This approach strikes a careful balance between, on the one hand, the continued need to ensure and independently verify that Boeing’s program improves, with, on the other hand, the meaningful compliance improvements Boeing has made since the parties proposed the plea agreement last summer and the FAA’s sustained, enhanced oversight of the company since the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident,” the attorneys for the DOJ (Justice Department) said.
The DOJ’s (Justice Department) decision to reaffirm the NPA has reopened deep wounds for families of the 737 MAX victims and renewed debates over corporate responsibility in the aviation industry. While Boeing may now avoid a public trial, the court of public opinion is far from convinced that justice has been served.
With safety and trust in commercial aviation still hanging in the balance, only time will tell whether this settlement brings real reform or reinforces a troubling precedent.
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