WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) -

A U.S. judge on Friday said he will hold an August 28

hearing on a request by the Justice Department and Boeing ( BA )

to approve an agreement that allows the planemaker to avoid

prosecution on a charge stemming from two fatal 737 MAX plane

crashes that killed 346 people.

The deal, which faces objections from relatives of some of

those killed in the crashes in 2018 and 2019, enables Boeing ( BA ) to

escape oversight from an independent monitor for three years.

Boeing ( BA ) last year agreed to plead guilty under a deal with

prosecutors to a criminal fraud charge that it misled U.S.

regulators about a crucial flight control system on the 737 MAX,

its best-selling jet.

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Texas said he will

hear from lawyers or others who want to address the court about

the proposed dismissal of the charge it misled U.S. regulators

about a crucial flight control system on the 737 MAX.

Some family members argue dismissal is not in the public

interest and obligations imposed on Boeing ( BA ) are not enforceable

and have cited O'Connor's statement in 2023 that "Boeing's ( BA ) crime

may properly be considered the deadliest corporate crime in U.S.

history."

Boeing ( BA )

argued the executive branch solely has

the power to decide whether to bring or maintain a

prosecution, asking O'Connor to reject objections filed by the

families and grant the government's motion to dismiss the

criminal fraud conspiracy charge.

If the government declined to move forward with the

prosecution even if the court rejected the deal, O'Connor should

appoint a special prosecutor, some families said.

Under the non-prosecution agreement,

Boeing ( BA ) agreed to pay

an additional $444.5 million into a crash victims fund to

be divided evenly per crash victim of the two fatal 737 MAX

crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, on top of a new $243.6

million fine.

Under the non-prosecution agreement, Boeing ( BA ) will pay

$1.1 billion in total, including the fine, compensation to

families and more than $455 million to strengthen the company's

compliance, safety and quality programs.

The vast majority of the families have settled civil

suits with Boeing ( BA ) and collectively have been "paid several

billion dollars," the Justice Department said.