Boeing charged with conspiracy to defraud the FAA over 737 MAX certification

Summary

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).