A grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft at Los Angeles International Airport.
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The Justice Department and Boeing are near a deal that may allow the aerospace giant to avoid pleading guilty or a trial in a criminal case related to 2 deadly crashes of its 737 Max passenger jet, an individual aware of the matter said Friday.
Boeing agreed to plead guilty within the case last summer in a cope with the Justice Department after the Biden administration found earlier that yr that the corporate violated a 2021 agreement tied to the crashes. A judge rejected that plea deal last yr, citing concerns about diversity, equity and inclusion, and opened the likelihood that Boeing could face trial.
The fraud charge stems from Boeing’s development of the 737 Max. The U.S. had accused Boeing of misleading regulators about its inclusion of a flight-control system on the Max that was later implicated within the two crashes.
Boeing Co. 737 Max fuselages at the corporate’s manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, US, on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
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A final, nonprosecution agreement hasn’t been reached yet, said the person, who was speaking on condition of anonymity to debate ongoing negotiations.
The Justice Department didn’t immediately comment, and Boeing declined to comment on the matter.
Under the brand new agreement, Boeing could pay relations of victims of the 2 Max crashes. In total, the 2 crashes of the bestselling Boeing jet killed all 346 people on board the planes.
The brand new tentative agreement, which was reported earlier Friday by Reuters, would mean Boeing would not be labeled a felon. That label could have include restrictions on defense contractor work.
Boeing is the country’s biggest exporter and, along with making business jetliners, it’s a serious defense contractor. The Trump administration recently awarded the corporate a multibillion-dollar contract to construct a next-generation fighter jet.
