737 crashes: US government and Boeing reach agreement to end lawsuits

The U.S. government and Boeing have agreed to end criminal charges against the planemaker related to two fatal crashes of its 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019, according to a document filed Friday.

The settlement is a major development for the Arlington, Virginia-based group, which, subject to approval by a federal judge in Texas, will avoid a trial scheduled to begin on June 23.

As part of the settlement, Boeing will admit that it sought to "obstruct and hinder" the work of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The company will also have to pay out $1.1 billion, including $444.5 million to fund a compensation fund for victims' relatives, which had already been credited under an initial agreement reached in 2021.

The remaining $244 million in fines and $455 million to strengthen the Seattle, Washington-based company's internal safety, quality and compliance programs.

The proceedings concern the crashes of two 737 MAX 8s, one belonging to Lion Air in October 2018 and the other to Ethiopian Airlines in March 2019.

The U.S. government criticized Boeing for failing to disclose technical aspects of its MCAS anti-stall software to the FAA. Both crashes were caused by MCAS malfunctions and a lack of pilot training in the program.

In early 2024, after a mid-air incident in January involving a 737 MAX 9 in the northwest United States, authorities terminated the 2021 agreement.

The government and Boeing agreed on a new document, which was rejected in early December by federal judge Reed O'Connor on grounds of form, not substance.

The magistrate then surprised everyone in March by setting a trial date for the end of June, putting pressure on the parties, who eventually agreed, according to the document submitted Friday. In the document, the U.S. government stated that it had met with victims' families beforehand to inform them of its intentions.

Following these meetings, relatives and lawyers representing the beneficiaries of "more than 110 victims" indicated that they were either in favor of the agreement or a resolution avoiding a trial, or that they did not oppose it. However, other families did not agree and expressed their dissatisfaction with Friday's announcement.

"I am completely shocked by the Justice Department's decision not to prosecute Boeing despite all the evidence we have produced showing Boeing's turpitude and lies," said Catherine Berther, who lost her daughter Camille in the Ethiopian Airlines crash.