Families of some of the people who died in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes are asking US officials to fine Boeing US$24.8 billion and move quickly to prosecute the company on a criminal charge that was set aside three years ago.
A lawyer for the families in a letter on Wednesday to the US Department of Justice said that a large fine is justified “because Boeing’s crime is the deadliest corporate crime in US history.”
The lawyer, Paul Cassell, also wrote that the US government should prosecute officials who were leading Boeing at the time of the crashes in 2018 and 2019, including then-CEO Dennis Muilenburg. In all, 346 people were killed in the crashes.
Photo: Reuters
The first crash occurred when a Boeing 737 MAX 8 operated by Indonesia’s Lion Air plunged into the Java Sea in October 2018. The second crash occurred in March 2019, when an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 crashed nearly straight down into a field six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The push by the families comes as the US department considers whether to revive a dormant criminal charge of fraud against Boeing. Last month, prosecutors determined that the company violated a 2021 settlement that protected it from being prosecuted for allegedly misleading regulators who approved the MAX.
The department has until July 7 to tell a federal judge in Texas whether it would revive the case. During a hearing on Tuesday, US Senator Richard Blumenthal said there is “mounting evidence” that the company should be prosecuted.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company previously has said it met its obligations under the 2021 settlement.
The US department opened an investigation into Boeing after a door plug blew off a 737 MAX during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. That incident led to increased scrutiny of the company and outgoing CEO David Calhoun, who defended Boeing’s safety record during Tuesday’s US Senate hearing.
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