(RightWing.org) – On July 7, the Justice Department filed a status report in the Northern District of Texas confirming it reached an agreement in principle on a plea deal with Boeing related to fatal crashes of its 737 MAX airliner in 2018 and 2019. Although Boeing is too big to fail, that doesn’t mean it won’t experience some turbulence as a government contractor. The Defense Department is currently negotiating with Boeing as the parties finalized the terms of their agreement.
The Defense Department has remained close-lipped about the negotiations so far. For example, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder gave a vague answer during a recent press briefing. For the most part, he referred questions about the remediation efforts with Boeing to the Justice Department.
However, Ryder confirmed that the Defense Department “would assess” any plans resulting from Boeing’s negotiations with federal prosecutors. He also said the Pentagon would take further steps to determine what “would be necessary to protect the federal government’s interests” regarding the DoD’s ongoing contracts with the company.
However, a quick review of the government’s eight-page status report showed that some protections are already being negotiated. For instance, Boeing officials agreed to increased oversight by a court-assigned independent monitor.
If the court agrees to the plea deal terms, Boeing will have to spend at least $455 million to strengthen the company’s safety and compliance programs. Additionally, the agreement mandates a three-year term of supervised probation for Boeing.
Boeing also agreed to pay a $487.2 million penalty in addition to the $2.5 billion it had already paid under the terms of an earlier deferred prosecution agreement with the DoJ in January 2021.
Under the terms of that agreement, Boeing paid a criminal fine of $243.6 million, compensated the company’s 737 MAX customers $1.77 billion, and established a $500 million fund to compensate crash victims, their relatives, and heirs.
Media outlets reported that Boeing issued a statement acknowledging the agreement, “subject to memorialization and approval of specific terms” by the court. It remains unclear when the court will issue a final ruling in the case.
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