US formally moves to dismiss prosecution against Boeing and asks judge to cancel trial over crashes

WASHINGTON AP The U S Justice Department has formally moved to dismiss a criminal fraud charge against Boeing and has sought a judge to cancel an upcoming trial connected to two plane crashes that killed people off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia according to court documents filed Thursday The deal publicized last week will allow the American aircraft manufacturer to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading U S regulators about the Max jetliner before the planes crashed less than five months apart in and The agreement in principle will require the company to pay and invest more than billion including an additional million for the crash casualties families in return for dismissing the criminal development according to court documents Dismissing the fraud charge will allow the manufacturer to avoid a manageable criminal conviction that could have jeopardized the company s status as a federal contractor experts have disclosed U S District Judge Reed O Connor in Fort Worth Texas will decide whether to accept the motion to dismiss accept the terms of the non-prosecution agreement and whether to cancel the trial O Connor on Thursday ordered all the lawyers to present him with a briefing schedule on the leadership s motion by June Specific relatives of the passengers who died in the crashes have been pushing for a community trial the prosecution of former company bureaucrats and more severe financial punishment for Boeing The Justice Department has noted that the casualties families had mixed views on the proposed deal Nadia Milleron a Massachusetts resident whose -year-old daughter Samya Stumo died in the Ethiopia crash in an email Thursday declared it hurt her to read the Justice Department s false message that the agreement will secure meaningful accountability deliver community benefits and bring finality to a complex occurrence whose outcome would otherwise be uncertain This is not a complicated or complex situation because Boeing signed a confession Milleron commented There will be no accountability as a effect of the NPA non-prosecution deal Boeing declared in a comment that the company is committed to complying with its obligations under the resolution including commitments to further institutional improvements and investments as well as additional compensation for families of those who died in the two plane crashes We are deeply sorry for their losses and remain committed to honoring their loved ones memories by pressing forward with the broad and deep changes to our company that we have made to strengthen our safety system and way of life a Boeing spokesperson noted in the message Attorney Mark Lindquist who represents dozens of the casualties families noted in a declaration Thursday that although he had craved to see a more vigorous prosecution he didn t think it was going to happen At this point I can only hope the criminal situation and the lawsuits motivated Boeing to improve safety Lindquist mentioned That s what really matters We all want to walk onto a Boeing plane and feel safe Boeing was accused of misleading the Federal Aviation Administration about aspects of the Max before the agency certified the plane for flight Boeing did not tell airlines and pilots about a new application system that could turn the plane s nose down without input from pilots if a sensor detected that the plane might go into an aerodynamic stall The Max planes crashed after a faulty reading from the sensor pushed the nose down and pilots were unable to regain control After the second crash Max jets were grounded until the company redesigned the solution The Justice Department charged Boeing in with deceiving FAA regulators about the system and about how much training pilots would need to fly the plane safely The department agreed not to prosecute Boeing at the time however if the company paid a billion settlement including the million fine and took initiatives to comply with anti-fraud laws for three years But last year federal prosecutors noted Boeing violated the terms of the agreement by failing to make promised changes to detect and prevent violations of federal anti-fraud laws Boeing agreed last July to plead guilty to the felony fraud charge instead of enduring what could have been a lengthy residents trial Then in December O Connor rejected the plea deal The judge stated the diversity inclusion and equity or DEI policies in the regime and at Boeing could outcome in race being a factor in picking a monitor to oversee Boeing s compliance with the agreement Under the new agreement Boeing must retain an independent compliance consultant who will make recommendations for further improvement and record back to the executive court documents noted