US May Drop Guilty Plea Deal With Boeing Over 737 Max Crashes, Lawyers Say

Federal prosecutors are considering abandoning a deal in which Boeing would plead guilty to a felony charge related to a pair of fatal crashes involving its 737 Max plane, according to lawyers for the families of some of the 346 crash victims.

The lawyers said that they and the families were informed by Justice Department officials in a call on Friday about the reversal. During the call, Justice Department officials said that they were considering reaching a non-prosecution agreement with Boeing instead, the family lawyers said.

“While D.O.J. claims no final decision has been made, their scripted presentation made it clear that the outcome has already been decided,” Erin R. Applebaum, a lawyer at Kreindler & Kreindler, a firm that represents 34 families who lost loved ones in one of the crashes, said in a statement. “This isn’t justice. It’s a backroom deal dressed up as a legal proceeding, and it sends a dangerous message: In America, the rich and powerful can buy their way out of accountability.”

The Justice Department and Boeing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A decision to reach a non-prosecution agreement would represent the latest about-face in a yearslong effort to hold Boeing accountable for two of the deadliest plane crashes in recent history.

Last summer, prosecutors and Boeing had reached a deal in which the company agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the federal government. But that agreement has been under renegotiation in recent months, and Justice Department officials told families that Boeing has refused to plead guilty.

Under a non-prosecution agreement, prosecutors agree not to pursue charges in exchange for some concessions. The officials told the families on Friday that they believed this kind of agreement was the best course of action, with other options including going to trial, which they said would be risky.