A federal judge rejected Boeing’s plea deal with the Department of Justice on Thursday over charges related to two fatal plane crashes, sending the two parties back to the negotiating table, according to a Texas federal court filing.
The proposed plea deal would have allowed the aircraft maker to avoid criminal charges over its role in two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. Boeing’s flight stabilization software on both 737 Max planes was believed to have contributed to the crashes.
The rejected agreement included an additional $243.6 million criminal fine, totaling $487.2 million in criminal penalty fines after already paying the same fine from its previous deferred prosecution agreement.
However, the agreement prevented the court from having a say in selecting and overseeing the appointed monitor, U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor wrote in a 12-page opinion. He also said Boeing and the Justice Department’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies would have made race a factor in selecting a monitor instead of their candidate’s merit, saying the two parties would act in a “discriminatory manner.”
“The parties’ DEI efforts only serve to undermine this confidence in the Government and Boeing’s ethics and anti-fraud efforts,” O’Connor wrote.
In October, the federal court ordered Boeing and the Department of Justice to file briefs on how diversity, equity and inclusion policies might affect the selection of a compliance monitor.
The DOJ stated it will hire the best candidate for the monitor position and Boeing said it will not allow its DEI principles to interfere with choosing a monitor. However, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg rolled back its DEI policies in late October, Bloomberg reported.
Despite the rollback, O’Connor noted, the aircraft titan said in its briefing to the court that it did not abandon its DEI commitments.
“They argue, in essence, that the Government has monitored Boeing since the case was filed and yet failed to ensure Boeing’s compliance,” O’Connor wrote. “Because of this failure, they contend the monitor should be selected by and report to the Court to guarantee compliance.”
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The victims’ families of the two fatal crashes that killed 346 people opposed the plea deal, in part due to issues with the selection process for the monitor.
“Judge O’Connor has recognized that this was a cozy deal between the Government and Boeing that failed to focus on the overriding concerns — holding Boeing accountable for its deadly crime and ensuring that nothing like this happens again in the future,” Paul Cassell, attorney for the families, said in a statement.
Families of the victims also praised O’Connor’s decision.
“The judge did the right thing throwing this terrible plea deal out. This plea deal was nothing more than a get out of jail free card for Boeing,” Ike and Susan Riffel, who lost their two sons Melvin and Bennett in the crash, said in a statement. “This deal didn't hold anyone accountable for the deaths of 346 people and did nothing to protect the flying public. I'm very happy with Judge O’Connor's decision and now we can move forward with real justice for our loved ones.”
