Lawyers for families of the hundreds of victims killed in a pair of Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane crashes filed motions this week urging U.S. Judge Reed O'Connor to reject a "morally reprehensible" plea agreement and instead force the company to go to trial.
The Texas-based judge is considering a proposed deal, finalized by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last week, in which Boeing would plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about the safety of the aircraft involved in the Lion Air Flight 610 crash in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash the next year.
Under the deal—which comes after the DOJ determined that Boeing breached its obligations under a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and federal prosecutors recommended criminal charges—the company would also pay a $243.6 million fine, invest $455 million in compliance and safety, and be subject to oversight by an independent monitor for three years.
"We urge Judge O'Connor to use his recognized authority to reject this inappropriate plea and set the matter for a public trial."
"This sweetheart deal deceptively presents a version of Boeing's crime that conceals the fact that Boeing's lies to the FAA directly and proximately killed 346 people," said Paul Cassell, an attorney for families and University of Utah law professor, in a Wednesday statement. "This plea deal is not in the public interest."
"It is deceptive and unfair," he added, "and we urge Judge O'Connor to use his recognized authority to reject this inappropriate plea and set the matter for a public trial, so that all the facts surrounding the case will be aired in a fair and open forum before a jury."
The filing from Cassell's team argues that the court should reject the "rotten deal" because:
- It destroys the court's ability to craft a fair and just sentence—and one that is perceived as fair and just by the public;
- The parties have "swallowed the gun" by hiding relevant facts about Boeing's culpability;
- It allows Boeing to escape accountability for directly and proximately causing 346 deaths;
- It surreptitiously exonerates Boeing's then-senior leadership;
- The $243 million fine is inadequate under the principles of sentencing;
- The compliance monitor provision is inadequate;
- The provision requiring Boeing to make new investments in compliance, quality, and safety programs is unenforceable and inadequate; and
- The restitution provision is misleading and unfairly allows Boeing to tie up restitution through extensive litigation and appeals.
"Whereas the DPA, was a 'sweetheart deal,' the plea bargain is a 'do-over,'" declared Chris Moore, a Canadian whose 24-year-old daughter Danielle was killed in the 2019 crash in Ethiopia. "The average citizen during criminal prosecutions doesn't get a 'do-over.' More to the point, my daughter didn't get a 'do-over,' which is why the DOJ should take justice seriously instead of bowing to the pressures of commerce."
Javier de Luis, who lost his sister Graziella in the same crash, said that "the ultimate aim of this agreement should be to ensure that the two 737 MAX crashes are never repeated. This agreement does nothing to achieve that objective."
Both de Luis and Catherine Berthet, whose daughter Camille also died in the 2019 crash, highlighted a January incident: A door plug flew off the Boeing 737 MAX 9 used for Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, causing minor injuries and forcing an emergency landing.
"Basically, this appalling door plug incident in January happened because, despite the constraints imposed by the DPA, nothing has changed at Boeing," Berthet said. "What will the plea deal change? Nothing."
"The only way to change Boeing is simply to apply justice," she added, arguing that Boeing, outgoing chief executive officer Dave Calhoun, and ex-CEO Dennis Muilenburg must be held "accountable for their actions and decisions by facing a jury at a trial."
"My daughter didn't get a 'do-over,' which is why the DOJ should take justice seriously instead of bowing to the pressures of commerce."
After announcing in March that Calhoun would voluntarily leave his post by the end of this year, Boeing revealed Wednesday that he will be replaced by Robert "Kelly" Ortberg of Rockwell Collins, who is set to start his new role on August 8.
"The arrival of a new CEO at Boeing could not have happened at a more crucial and necessary time for the safety of the traveling public around the world," said Robert A. Clifford, lead counsel for victims' families in pending civil litigation, in a Wednesday statement. "As a company, Boeing has been nosediving in self-destructive flight under the past leadership of Muilenburg, Calhoun, and the do-nothing board of directors."
"This move may give the company the ability to pull out of its impending total and fatal crash, unlike what occurred to the 346 innocent victims of the two Boeing 737 MAX 8 preventable disasters," he continued. "While this man is an industry insider, he does come from outside of Boeing and on the face of it has a well-regarded reputation in the industry. Maybe he can bring the company back to the stature it once held before it criminally and preventively killed 346 people."
