Compliance violations

Boeing threatened with criminal proceedings after 737-Max crashes

Test flight of a Boeing 737 Max

(Bild: AP)

After two fatal crashes of its 737-Max model, Boeing could now face criminal charges for the tragedies five years later: The US Department of Justice said the aircraft manufacturer had breached obligations under an agreement that had protected Boeing from criminal prosecution for the crashes. A total of 346 people died in the crashes at the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019. 

Boeing failed to "develop, implement and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws throughout the company," according to the Department's complaint. 

Incident at the beginning of the year set the ball rolling
The dicey incident on January 5, in which part of the cabin wall of an almost new Boeing aircraft was torn away shortly after take-off, got the case rolling. Missing bolts almost caused a catastrophe. The government will now examine whether criminal action can be taken against the company.

On January 5, shortly after take-off from Portland in the US state of Oregon, part of the cabin wall of the Alaska Airlines plane flew out.

(Bild: National Transportation Safety Board via AP, File)

The company has until June 13 to explain the nature and circumstances of the violation and the measures taken to rectify the situation. Boeing made it clear that it believes it has complied with all the terms of the agreement.

Accident occurred shortly before the deadline
Following the fatal crashes five years ago, Boeing had committed to compensate the families of the victims and revise its compliance practices in a 2021 agreement with the public prosecutor's office. In return, the public prosecutor's office agreed to ask a judge to drop the charges against Boeing - provided the agreement is honored for three years. The plane crash earlier this year occurred two days before the deadline.