Boeing’s $1.1B deal to avoid trial over two fatal crashes sparks outrage from victims’ families and legal counsel. Boeing strikes a $1.1B deal with the US DOJ to avoid prosecution over two fatal crashes, but the lawyer representing the victims’ families calls it a “morally repugnant” escape from justice.
A new $1.1 billion agreement has been made between aerospace giant Boeing and the U.S. Department of Justice. This has ignited backlash from families of victims involved in the deadly Boeing 737 Max crashes. The deal shields Boeing from criminal prosecution and includes payouts and compliance improvements but has been severely condemned by the victims’ legal team as deeply unjust.
Sanjiv Singh, the lawyer representing the 16 families affected by the 2018 Lion Air crash in Indonesia, described the agreement as “morally repugnant,” arguing that it enables Boeing to avoid true accountability. “It’s like Boeing paying $10 to escape criminal liability,” Singh told the BBC.
The settlement would see $444.5 million allocated to victims’ families, with an additional $455 million committed to overhauling Boeing’s safety and compliance systems. A criminal fine of $487.2 million is included—half of which Boeing already paid in 2021 as part of a previous agreement.
The crashes in question are the Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019 has killed a combined 346 people and were both attributed to faulty flight control software on the 737 Max.
Boeing stated it remains committed to “honouring the memory of the victims” and reforming its internal systems, pending court approval of the deal. If upheld, Boeing would be spared a criminal fraud trial.
Families of the victims will have the opportunity to appeal before a federal judge rules on the agreement. Singh says his clients feel an overwhelming sense of “visceral outrage” and believe the settlement fails to deliver justice or accountability.
