Federal judge rejects Boeing plea deal over 737 crashes
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Families of victims of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 display photos of their loved ones at a Senate hearing on June 18. Photo: Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
A federal judge on Thursday rejected Boeing's plea deal over a criminal fraud charge stemming from two fatal 737 crashes in 2018 and 2019.
Why it matters: The plane crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed a total of 346 people and ignited scrutiny about quality control and safety at Boeing — concerns that have only become starker in recent years.
- If the deal had gone through, it would have tarnished one of the world's biggest aerospace companies with a felony conviction.
- Now, Boeing and the Justice Department have 30 days to provide the court with a new plan for how they wish to proceed, Judge Reed O'Connor wrote in a court filing Thursday.
Catch up quick: Boeing agreed in July to plead guilty to the charge of conspiring to defraud the federal government and to pay $487.2 million in penalties.
- It also agreed to invest at least $455 million over three years to bolstering its compliance and safety programs and to allow a government-appointed independent monitor to track compliance with safety measures.
- However, the victims' families criticized the deal at the time, calling it a "sweetheart deal" that gave undue concessions to Boeing.
State of play: In the court filing Thursday, O'Conner noted that many victims' families opposed the government-appointed monitor and believed the monitor should be selected by, and report to, the court.
- O'Conner also took issue with the fact that the monitor's selection would take DEI provisions into account.
- "The Court is not convinced ... that the Government will not choose a monitor without race-based considerations and thus will not act in a nondiscriminatory manner," O'Conner wrote.
- In October, O'Conner ordered Boeing and the Justice Department to provide details about the diversity, equity and inclusion policies on the selection of the monitor, Reuters reported.
What they're saying: "This is an excellent decision by Judge O'Connor and an important victory for the victims' families," attorney Erin Applebaum, which represents some of the victims' families, said in a statement Thursday.
- "We anticipate a significant renegotiation of the plea deal that incorporates terms truly commensurate with the gravity of Boeing's crimes," Applebaum added.
- "It's time for the DOJ to end its lenient treatment of Boeing and demand real accountability."
- Boeing and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment.
Go deeper: Boeing to plead guilty to fraud over 737 Max crashes
