On January 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Boeing entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement after being charged with conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during the certification of the 737 MAX aircraft. According to the DOJ, Boeing employees concealed material information about the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) from FAA officials, resulting in incomplete pilot training materials. Boeing agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion, including a criminal penalty, compensation for airline customers, and a fund for the families of the 346 victims of the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashes. As part of the agreement, Boeing also committed to strengthening its compliance and ethics program. Source: U.S. Department of Justice announcement (January 7, 2021).

Following the January 5, 2024 Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 door plug incident, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched an extensive investigation into Boeing's manufacturing and quality-control processes. The FAA identified non-compliance issues in Boeing's manufacturing process control, parts handling, storage, and product control. As a result, the FAA halted expansion of Boeing's 737 MAX production, increased on-site oversight, required Boeing to submit a comprehensive corrective action plan, and stated that the company must address its systemic production-quality issues before production could increase. The FAA continues to monitor Boeing's progress through ongoing audits, inspections, and regular reviews. https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/updates-boeing-737-9-max-aircraft