(Recasts headline)

July 8 (Reuters) - Boeing ( BA ) has agreed to plead

guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of

$243.6 million to resolve a U.S. Justice Department

investigation into two 737 MAX fatal crashes, the government

said in a court filing on Sunday.

Earlier this month, Boeing ( BA ) agreed to buy back Spirit

AeroSystems ( SPR ) for $4.7 billion in stock and Airbus

moved to take on the supplier's loss-making

Europe-focused activities.

Here is a timeline of recent issues surrounding the MAX

since the crashes in 2018 and 2019:

OCTOBER 2018: A Lion Air MAX plane crashes in Indonesia,

killing all 189 people on board.

NOVEMBER 2018: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA) and Boeing ( BA ) begin evaluating the need for software or

design changes to 737 MAX jets following the Lion Air crash.

MARCH 2019: An Ethiopian Airlines MAX crashes, killing all

157 people on board. China becomes the first country to ground

the MAX, followed by others including the U.S. FAA.

APRIL 2019: The FAA forms an international team to review

the safety of 737 MAX. Boeing ( BA ) cuts monthly production by nearly

20%.

SEPTEMBER 2019: Boeing's ( BA ) board creates a permanent safety

committee to oversee development, manufacturing and operation of

its aircraft.

OCTOBER 2019: Boeing ( BA ) fires Kevin McAllister, the top

executive of its commercial airplanes division.

DECEMBER 2020: The company fires CEO Dennis Muilenburg in

the wake of the twin crashes.

JANUARY 2020: Boeing ( BA ) suspends 737 production, its biggest

assembly-line halt in more than 20 years.

MAY 2020: Boeing ( BA ) resumes 737 MAX production at a "low rate".

JUNE 2020: Boeing ( BA ) begins a series of long-delayed flight

tests of its redesigned 737 MAX with regulators at the controls.

NOVEMBER 2020: The U.S. FAA lifts the grounding order,

allowing the 737 MAX to fly again.

DECEMBER 2020: U.S. Congress passes legislation to reform

how the FAA certifies new airplanes, including requiring

manufacturers to disclose certain safety-critical information to

the regulator.

JANUARY 2021: The European Union Aviation Safety Agency

approves the MAX's return to service in Europe.

MARCH 2021: China's aviation regulator says major safety

concerns with the MAX needed to be "properly addressed" before

conducting flight tests.

APRIL 2021: Boeing ( BA ) halts 737 MAX deliveries after electrical

problems re-ground part of the fleet.

NOVEMBER 2021: Current and former Boeing directors reach a

$237.5 mln settlement with shareholders to settle lawsuits over

safety oversight of the 737 MAX.

OCTOBER 2022: The FAA tells Boeing ( BA ) that some key documents

submitted as part of the certification review of the 737 MAX 7

are incomplete and others need a reassessment.

DECEMBER 2022: U.S. Congress agrees to extend a deadline for

new standards for modern cockpit alerts stemming from the 2020

legislation after intense lobbying from Boeing ( BA ).

APRIL 2023: Boeing ( BA ) pauses deliveries of some 737 MAXs to

deal with a new supplier quality problem involving non-compliant

fittings.

JULY 2023: Boeing's ( BA ) first delivery of the 737 MAX 7 is

delayed to 2024.

AUGUST 2023: Boeing ( BA ) identifies a new 737 MAX supplier

quality problem involving improperly drilled holes on the aft

pressure bulkhead.

SEPTEMBER 2023: Boeing 737 MAX deliveries fall to their

lowest levels since August 2021.

DECEMBER 2023: Boeing ( BA ) makes its first direct delivery of a

787 Dreamliner to China since 2019, seen as a precursor to the

country potentially unfreezing deliveries of the 737 MAX.

JANUARY 2024: A mid-air cabin blowout compels Alaska Air ( ALK ) to

perform an emergency landing of its recently acquired 737 MAX 9

aircraft, prompting the FAA to ground 171 of these jets and

initiate an investigation. The FAA bars Boeing ( BA ) from increasing

MAX output, but lifts the grounding of MAX-9s once inspections

were completed.

FEBRUARY 2024: The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board

published its preliminary report on the Alaska Air ( ALK ) incident.

According to the investigation, the door panel that flew off the

jet mid-flight appeared to be missing four key bolts.

MARCH 2024: The FAA's 737 MAX production audit found

multiple instances where Boeing ( BA ) and supplier Spirit AeroSystems ( SPR )

allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control

requirements. This came days after Boeing ( BA ) said it was in

preliminary talks to buy Spirit.

The planemaker also said top boss Dave Calhoun would step

down at the end of the year.

APRIL 2024: 737 MAX production falls as U.S. regulators step

up factory checks and workers slow the assembly line outside

Seattle to complete outstanding work.

May 2024: The U.S. Department of Justice says Boeing ( BA )

breached its obligations in a 2021 agreement that shielded it

from criminal prosecution over 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.

The FAA head says he does not expect the agency will quickly

give Boeing ( BA ) the authority to boost 737 MAX production.

July 1, 2024: Boeing ( BA ) acquires Spirit AeroSystems ( SPR ) back in an

all-stock deal for $4.7 billion in equity value. The deal comes

as Boeing ( BA ), which had sold Spirit in 2005 to cut costs, attempts

to solve its quality hurdles and accelerate jet deliveries.

July 7, 2024: Boeing ( BA ) agrees to plead guilty to a criminal

fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of $243.6 mln to resolve

the U.S. Justice Department investigation into the two 737 MAX

fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.