US judge sets Boeing 737 MAX fraud trial for June 23

A judge in the Department of Justice’s criminal fraud case against Boeing abruptly set the trial date for June 23 because of the plane’s alleged misrepresentations to US regulators regarding a crucial system on the 737 MAX.

The trial date was set for Tuesday by the judge.

Following two fatal 737 MAX collisions, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to criminal fraud conspiracy in July, and to pay a $487.2 million fine. After rejecting the previous deal, US District Judge Reed O’Connor had previously given Boeing and the Justice Department until April 11 to reach an agreement on a new plea deal, citing a diversity and inclusion provision.

O’Connor stated in Fort Worth, Texas, that “Boeing’s crime may legitimately be regarded as the deadliest corporate crime in US history” in 2023.

Boeing is reportedly attempting to renegotiate the current plea deal, according to The Wall Street Journal’s report on Monday. O’Connor did not explain why he was setting a trial date or reversing the sides’ earlier April 11 deadline.

Boeing stated on Tuesday that it and the Justice Department are still “engaged in good faith discussions regarding a suitable resolution of this matter.”

The Justice Department did not respond right away.

In addition to three years of court-supervised probation, an independent monitor will be under the supervision of Boeing for three years, according to the plea deal reached last year.

The plea agreement, which failed to adequately hold Boeing accountable for the deaths of its loved ones, has been referred to as “sweetheart” deal by relatives of the victims of the two 737 MAX crashes, which occurred in 2018 and 2019 and killed 346 people.

The Justice Department is urged to “stand on the right side of history, reject any further plea negotiations, and move forward with a full prosecution,” according to Erin Applebaum, a lawyer representing the 34 families of the victims of the 2019 MAX Ethiopian Airlines crash.

She continued, “The families deserve their day in court, and this golden opportunity for justice should not be wasted.”

A plea deal that would make Boeing a felon guilty of conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration about the issues with the flight control systems that crashed during the MAX certification would be branded as a “confession.”

Boeing was discovered by the Justice Department in May that had broken a 2021 agreement that had protected it from legal action following the crashes. The prosecution then agreed to settle the current plea deal and file a criminal charge against Boeing.

The decision came after an Alaska Airlines jet’s door panel was damaged on January 5, 2024, which exposed Boeing’s ongoing safety and quality issues.

Following a number of errors, officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration have urged regulators to remain neutral with Boeing.