Department of Justice says Boeing may be criminally liable in 737 Max crashes

Boeing has violated a 2021 agreement that shielded it from criminal prosecution after two 737 Max disasters left 346 people dead overseas, the Department of Justice told a federal judge in a court filing Tuesday.

According to the DOJ, Boeing failed to "design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations."

The government has not yet decided if it will pursue prosecution of Boeing, but lawyers representing families of the victims who died in the crash said they hope to see further action in the case.

“This is a positive first step, and for the families, a long time coming. But we need to see further action from DOJ to hold Boeing accountable, and plan to use our meeting on May 31 to explain in more detail what we believe would be a satisfactory remedy to Boeing’s ongoing criminal conduct,” Paul Cassell, attorney for the victims’ families and a professor of law at the University of Utah College of Law, said in a statement.

Boeing acknowledged receiving notice of DOJ's decision and said it is planning to respond. 

“We can confirm that we received a communication today from the Justice Department, stating that the Department has made a determination that we have not met our obligations under our 2021 deferred prosecution agreement, and requesting the company's response," Boeing told USA TODAY in a statement.

"We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue. As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement, including in response to their questions following the Alaska Airlines 1282 accident.”

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Government officials plan to meet May 31 with victims of the crash and directed Boeing to reply to the filing by June 13. The department will inform the court by July 7 how it plans to proceed, which could lead to criminal charges against the company.

The planemaker has been under increased scrutiny by regulators and lawmakers this year following the latest grounding of its 737 Max jets. In January, an Alaska Airlines 737 Max lost a door plug during a flight. While no serious injuries or deaths occurred as a result of the incident, the Fedearl Aviation Administration quickly grounded the fleet of 737 Max jets that had the same kind of door plug and regulators began new probes of Boeing's production practices.

Passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight later received letters from the FBI informing them they may be victims of a crime.

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at [email protected]