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Some relatives of those killed in 737 MAX crashes oppose

deal

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Boeing ( BA ) agreed last year to plead guilty but later reversed

course

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Planemaker to pay $1.1 billion in total under deal

By David Shepardson

FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept 3 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on

Wednesday will hold a hearing on whether to approve a deal

between the Justice Department and Boeing ( BA ) that allows the

planemaker to avoid prosecution on a charge stemming from two

fatal 737 MAX plane crashes that killed 346 people.

Judge Reed O'Connor in Texas will consider objections from

relatives of some of those killed in the crashes in Indonesia in

2018 and Ethiopia in 2019 to the agreement that 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, but the company later reversed course.

Boeing ( BA ) agreed to the initial plea deal during the final

months of the Biden administration.

O'Connor rejected the agreement in December, faulting a

diversity and inclusion provision in the deal related to the

selection of an independent monitor.

That prolonged the case into the Trump administration, which

took over on January 20 and overhauled the Justice Department,

leading to a tentative non-prosecution agreement.

Some family members argue dismissal of the charge is not in

the public interest, citing O'Connor's statement in 2023 that

"Boeing's ( BA ) crime may properly be considered the deadliest

corporate crime in U.S. history."

Paul Cassell, a lawyer for some of the relatives, said the

"misleading and unfair deal is clearly against the public

interest. The families will be asking Judge O'Connor to use his

recognized authority to reject this inappropriate deal."

Boeing ( BA ) says the executive branch solely has the power to

decide whether to bring or maintain a prosecution. The

planemaker has asked O'Connor to reject objections filed by

families and to grant the government's motion to dismiss the

criminal charge.

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 victim of the two fatal 737 MAX crashes, 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.

Boeing ( BA ) has faced enhanced scrutiny from the Federal Aviation

Administration since January 2024, when a new MAX 9 missing four

key bolts suffered a mid-air emergency, losing a door plug. As a

result, Justice Department officials decided to reopen the older

fatal crashes case and to negotiate a plea agreement with

Boeing ( BA ).