US prosecutors have suggested that Boeing be charged criminally by the Department of Justice (DoJ). It comes after the Department of Justice said the manufacturer had broken a settlement over two deadly incidents involving its 737 Max aircraft, which claimed 346 lives.

When reached by the BBC, Boeing declined to comment; nevertheless, it has previously denied breaking the terms of the deferred prosecution deal. The Department of Justice has until July 7th to decide whether to bring legal action against the corporation. We’ve reached out to the DoJ for an update.

CBS, the BBC’s US partner, states that the advice is not a final decision and that details of any possible criminal action are unknown.

Ed Pierson, the executive director of the Foundation for Aviation Safety and a former top management at Boeing, stated, “This is a really important decision that is coming up.”

He stated: “There are problems with these aeroplanes” on the BBC’s Radio 4 Today show. These aircraft—I’m referring to the 737 Max and 787—are having issues, and the leadership is to blame.”

The two jet disasters, which involved Boeing 737 Max models, happened six months apart.

The Lion Air tragedy in Indonesia happened in October 2018, while an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft crashed in March 2019.

The victims’ families pleaded with authorities last week to investigate Boeing criminally and to seek a $25 billion fine.

In 2021, Boeing agreed to pay a $2.5 billion settlement, and prosecutors promised to request that the court dismiss the criminal case after three years, provided that Boeing followed the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement.

However, this month, the Department of Justice (DoJ) declared that Boeing had not “designed, implemented, and enforced a compliance and ethics programme to prevent and detect violations of the US fraud laws throughout its operations”—a violation of the conditions of the agreement.

Senators from the US grilled Dave Calhoun, the departing CEO of Boeing, last week.

In spite of Calhoun’s testimony that the business had “learned” from its previous errors and that the procedure for handling staff whistleblowers “works,” legislators criticised him of not going far enough in addressing a retaliation-friendly culture.

In April, Boeing whistleblowers informed the Senate that there were major manufacturing problems with the 737 Max, 787 Dreamliner, and 777 aircraft as part of an ongoing inquiry.

The business gained notoriety most recently when a door panel of a brand-new 737 Max aircraft broke off during a trip operated by Alaska Airlines in January, creating a large hole.

With a $33 million compensation plan, Calhoun is leaving his position as chief executive at the end of 2024, having held the position for less than five years. He’ll continue to serve on the board of Boeing.

Following the two crashes, Dennis Muilenburg was sacked, and Calhoun assumed his position.

Pearson claimed that the changes at the top of Boeing were “superficial” and that Mr. Calhoun had already worked for the corporation for ten years before he was appointed chief executive in 2019.

“They are making those decisions that are affecting millions and millions of people for many, many years,” he stated.

(Adapted from BBC.com)

Categories: Economy & Finance, Regulations & Legal, Strategy, Uncategorized