Boeing to plead guilty in probe of 737 MAX crashes

Boeing will plead guilty to criminal conspiracy in connection with two fatal crashes of its 737 Max jetliner, an agreement that disgraces the storied US planemaker as a felon but avoids a bruising courtroom confrontation as it tries to rebound from multiple crises.
Under the agreement with US prosecutors, Boeing faces a criminal fine of as much as $487 million - the maximum allowed by law - though the actual amount will be determined by a judge, according to the Justice Department.The DOJ asked the judge to credit Boeing for the prior fine it paid, which would bring the new penalty down to $244 million, if approved.
The company will install a corporate monitor and be required to spend at least $455 million to bolster its compliance and safety programs over the next three years as part of the deal, which requires court approval. It would also be subject to a period of court-supervised probation.
The Justice Department determined in May that Boeing breached a 2021 deferred-prosecution agreement tied to the crashes that was struck in the waning days of the Trump Administration. That followed the blowout of a fuselage panel on a 737 Max 9 on Jan 5, just days before the deal was set to expire.
The guilty plea marks a low point in the company's century-long history after years of turmoil sparked by two crashes of its 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. The agreement also has the potential to complicate Boeing's interaction with govt as a major defence contractor. The deal also stands to spare Boeing from the distraction of a criminal trial.