The Justice Department has reached a deal with Boeing that will allow the company to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed and killed 346 people.

The Justice Department has reached a deal with Boeing that will allow the airplane giant to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed and killed 346 people, according to court papers filed Friday.

Under the “agreement in principle,” which still needs to be finalized, Boeing would pay or invest more than $1.1 billion, including an additional $445 million for the crash victims’ families, the Justice Department said.

In return, the department has agreed to dismiss the fraud charge against Boeing, allowing the manufacturer to avoid a possible criminal conviction that could have jeopardized the company’s status as a federal contractor, according to experts.

  • plz1@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    2 hours ago

    I don’t know if this is an editorial wording choice or not, but the Justice Department should not be “reaching deals” at all. There were real human beings leading Boeing making intentional choices that killed people, then they lied about it, orchestrated a campaign to hide evidence of those lies, and got caught. These fines should be in addition to those scumbag executives being behind bars, not in lieu of it.

  • m-p{3}@lemmy.ca
    4·
    41 minutes ago

    It’s this kind of bullshit that makes people lose faith in the justice system.

    • henfredemars@infosec.pubEnglish
      22·
      7 hours ago

      You misunderstand. It’s actually “Just Us.”

      The basic idea of the court is to administer the concentrated power of a few elites who are completely unaccountable and above the law. It’s an absolute power system that belongs just to “Us,” our elites. Those are the people who make the rules and tell us what to do in our system of government.

      Alternatively, you can think of it as the laws apply only to us at the bottom. In this case, “us” refers to the citizens. It’s right in the name (US)A.

      Common misconception. Totally get it if you’re not from this country. In general, just remember it’s an authoritarian regime. That means that laws are an arbitrary device used to enforce and apply their power.

  • SW42@lemmy.world
    5·
    6 hours ago

    I won’t fly with anything made by Boeing. Many of my friends are the same. This happens when you let the MBAs and not engineers have the final word on aircraft design and safety.