Boeing Pleads Not Guilty to 737 Max Fraud Conspiracy Charge

Boeing After families opposed a 2021 Justice Department agreement to end the investigation into the plane’s flawed design, he pleaded not guilty to a 737 Max conspiracy fraud charge felony.

Mike Delaney (Boeing’s chief safety officer) entered the not guilty plea for the planemaker. Deferred prosecution agreements usually include a not-guilty plea.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor ordered Boeing to appear before him last week after he ruled the victims of the two Boeing 737 Max crashes were legally considered. “crime victims.”

346 people were killed in the crashes of Indonesian and Ethiopian planes. These crashes cost Boeing more than $20Billion and led to a 20 month grounding of the most-sold plane. This led to legislation reforming aircraft certification.

O’Connor is asked by the families to name an independent monitor who will oversee Boeing’s compliance. They also want O’Connor’s standard condition that Boeing does not commit new crimes. In addition, they would like to make as public as possible the contents of Boeing’s corporate compliance efforts made since 2021.

CNBC’s Dave Calhoun, Boeing’s Chief Executive, stated Wednesday that he did not object at the arraignment. Calhoun also expressed sympathy to the families. If Boeing follows all terms, the Justice Department will seek to dismiss the charges. Boeing admitted in court papers that two of its technical pilots deceived U.S. regulators over a key flight controller system related to both fatal accidents.

Thursday’s arraignment saw relatives of victims speak out. According to the filing, Boeing had been claimed by relatives. “committed the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history.”

Boeing and the Justice Department are opposed to reopening the $2.5 Billion agreement. It included $500 million victim compensation and a $243.6 Million fine. The Justice Department also paid $1.7 billion in compensation for airlines.

Boeing said in 2021 it accepted responsibility for paying compensation to the families of those who died in the crashes. Lawyers for victims stated that Boeing accepted responsibility under the agreement “that the 737 Max had an unsafe condition, and that it will not attempt to blame anyone else” For the crash.