Villagers and relatives at the site of the fatal Boeing crash in Ethiopia in 2019. Photo: Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
Boeing will plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge in connection with two fatal 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, per a Department of Justice court filing late Sunday.
Why it matters: If approved by the judge overseeing the case, the deal would brand one of the largest aerospace companies in the world a felon — a standing that could hurt its defense business.
At the same time, the deal falls short of what the families of the crash victims had wanted, including a criminal trial and a fine as high as almost $25 billion.
The big picture: As part of the agreement to plead guilty in the U.S. District Court in Texas, Boeing would pay $487.2 million in penalties and at least $455 million over three years to bolster its compliance and safety programs.
Paul Cassell, an attorney for families in the 2018 crash in Indonesia and the 2019 in Ethiopia that killed 346 people in total, filed an objection, the Washington Post reported.
The families "intend to argue that the plea deal with Boeing unfairly makes concessions to Boeing that other criminal defendants would never receive and fails to hold Boeing accountable" for those who died in the crashes, per the New York Times.
Representatives for the DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
The other side: Boeing confirmed in a statement released yesterday it had reached "an agreement in principle on terms of a resolution with the Justice Department."
The intrigue: Shares of Boeing traded higher on Monday as investors viewed the news as resolving one of the company's open questions.
Zoom out: Boeing is facing other scrutiny after a mid-air blowout on one of its 737 Max 9 jets in January reignited safety concerns.
