Fraud guilty plea flies from Boeing to swerve courtroom over 737 Max crashes
- Reference: 1720437841
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/07/08/boeing_guilty_fraud_charge/
- Source link:
The plea deal amounts to Boeing accepting one felony count, a move that will in exchange allow it to skip a trial.
"We can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle on terms of a resolution with the Justice Department, subject to the memorialization and approval of specific terms," Boeing told The Register.
[1]
As part of the [2]plea deal [PDF], Boeing will pay an additional $487.2 million in penalties on top of $2.5 billion it [3]already agreed to back in 2021. The aerospace giant will also invest at least $455 million in compliance and safety programs, have an independent compliance monitor selected by the government, and undergo three years of supervised probation.
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The families of those who died in the crashes will also be granted a meeting with Boeing's board of directors.
Boeing originally avoided prosecution for the tragic crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in 2019, which killed a total of 346 people. The DoJ determined two 737 Max flight technical pilots employed by Boeing had withheld information from federal aviation officials regarding the aircraft's Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
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"Because of their deception, a key document published by the FAA AEG lacked information about MCAS, and in turn, airplane manuals and pilot-training materials for US-based airlines lacked information about MCAS," [7]asserted the DoJ.
[8]Another Boeing whistleblower comes forward – with receipts
[9]Hm! Boeing union just ran whistleblower rights training
[10]US Air Force says AI-controlled F-16 fighter jet has been dogfighting with humans
[11]High-flying drones on a leash could blow traditional wind turbines away
By omitting the information, many of Boeing's customers required no extra pilot training, a move that sadly made them unaware that the MCAS was designed to automatically push the plane's nose down to prevent stalling in certain situations.
In May, [12]the DoJ determined Boeing had failed to meet terms of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), which required the company report any future instances of fraud and enhance its compliance rules.
The DPA was set to expire in July, meaning that if Boeing had flown under the radar, it may have avoided the felony. However, it is difficult to go unnoticed when your aircraft company has a [13]doorplug blow out of its product mid-air and whistleblowers [14]alleging safety issues who sometimes end up [15]dead.
The DoJ said it had formulated its Sunday plea offer based in part on feedback it received from the families of the crash victims.
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Paul Cassell, an attorney for the families, [17]filed [PDF] an objection to the agreement.
"The families intend to argue that the plea deal with Boeing unfairly makes concessions to Boeing that other criminal defendants would never receive and fails to hold Boeing accountable for the deaths of 346 persons," stated the objection. ®
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[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/07/08/pacer_boeing_fraud_settlement_main_doc.pdf
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/08/boeing_737_charges/
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[7] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/boeing-charged-737-max-fraud-conspiracy-and-agrees-pay-over-25-billion
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/24/boeing_whistleblower_q1_2024/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/20/boeing_whistleblower_training/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/18/darpa_f16_flight/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/05/airborne_wind_energy_grant/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/15/boeing_might_be_criminally_prosecuted/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/08/boeing_737_max_9_airplanes/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/24/boeing_whistleblower_q1_2024/
[15] https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68534703
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[17] https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/07/08/pacer_boeing_fraud_settlement_family_objections.pdf
[18] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: I blame Yurope
Indeed so - the 737 Max was a cheap rush job to compete with the A320neo.
Ironically, the A320neo has had its own "made in the USA" quality problems thanks to major quality control failings by Pratt & Whitney with the PW1100G engine fitted to about 40% of A320neos. Thankfully the PW1100G hasn't resulted in any fatalities, but has grounded aircraft and cost P&W about $5bn.
Re: I blame Yurope
Well, keep in mind that CFM is *also* a partially 'made in USA' affair... But they use different technology to the PW1100G, so they don't suffer from the bowing in the fan that P&W do.
"Self-Inflicted Wound"
Given the situation, the timing, the lack of detail, and the euphemistic phrasing by the coroner, one has to wonder about the accuracy of the coroner's statement.
Did he stab himself in the heart ... through his back ... with an ice-axe?
"By omitting the information, many of Boeing's customers required no extra pilot training ..."
shurely shome mishtake ... hic!
So Boeing is now a [dis]organised crime group.
Ill honestly think twice about booking a flight if the airline was using Boeing jets atm, its now officially a criminal organisation!
Criminal death charges surely?
[1]Is the Boeing 737MAX Really Unstable?! The 737 Engine Saga (23:24)
[2]Boeing 737MAX, LionAir Update!! - MCAS? (13:45)
[3]Boeing 737 Stall Escape manoeuvre, why MAX needs MCAS!! (20:21)
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue400BhW0aY
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfQW0upkVus
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlinocVHpzk
"a meeting with Boeing's board of directors"
The only way I would be going to a meeting like that is with an Uzi and three extra clips.
To be confronted to sunch a bunch of snakes and know I couldn't do anything about it would be too much, for me.
Re: "a meeting with Boeing's board of directors"
If it's the actual Boeing Corporation directors, then the victim's families will just meet a bunch of boring old farts who are the CEOs or equivalents from other US companies - in the US the directors are not the same as the officers of the company. The board does include the current Boeing CEO, Calhoun, but he's the only one with any operational accountability, and as far as I can tell was not an officer or executive of Boeing prior to Jan 2020. Which means he wasn't calling the shots when the whole 737Max crime was being planned and executed, in the years prior to 2019.
What the DoJ should have required was that the victims families could meet with any senior executives they requested of Boeing, who had operational responsibilities in the period circa 2014 to 2019. And compel those managers to turn up or face jail for contempt charges.
https://www.boeing.com/company/general-info/corporate-governance#board
Missed opportunity
They should have been forced to ONLY fly Boeing from now on. No private planes, no planes from the competition, only 737 Max, and leaving the company would not end this requirement.
I'd give it a month, tops, before quality became once again important.
As there are enough other countries that can claim jurisdiction (at the very least Ethiopia and Indonesia), I think criminal charges against Boeing should be filed outside of the USA.
For those of you with Netflix, there is a documentary on there right now about the Boeing saga.
If you weren't enraged by what you've read, seen, and heard to date, by the end of that documentary you most definitely will be. The sheer arrogance of those at the top is astounding. That some of them got massive pay-outs instead of jail terms will make you seethe. It will also make you realise that a lot of businesses today operate the same way - rather than be happy with turning a profit, they will sacrifice whatever they can in the name of chasing insane profit margins. In Boeing's case, that cost lives.
I blame Yurope
To be fair, if Airbus hadn't built a better, more fuel-efficent crate than the old 737, Boeing wouldn't have felt the need to game the regulatory system.