A federal judge has scheduled a trial date for Boeing, which may require the company to defend itself in court against a criminal charge related to two fatal 737 Max crashes. The decision by Reed O’Connor, a U.S. district judge in Texas, to set this trial date signifies a win for the families of the individuals who perished in the two Boeing crashes, as they have been demanding that the company be held accountable for the accidents in court.
This judicial step represents another development in a long-standing legal battle that has troubled the manufacturer since issues in its aircraft design led to the crashes, resulting in hundreds of casualties. The judge has set June 23 as the commencement date for trying Boeing on a single felony count of fraud. The company entered a guilty plea in July; however, the judge later dismissed the plea in December after objecting to certain diversity, equity, and inclusion provisions and the deal’s ability to “erroneously marginalise” the court’s authority in appointing an independent monitor to oversee Boeing.
Boeing and the U.S. Department of Justice were in negotiations for new terms, and they had until April 11 to update the court on their progress. Judge O’Connor’s decision to set a trial date follows a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that Boeing was seeking to withdraw its guilty plea.
Boeing has indicated that it is continuing to engage in “good faith” discussions with the Department of Justice regarding an appropriate resolution to this matter. The Department of Justice did not immediately comment on the trial date.
The criminal charge arises from the crashes of the 737 Max in 2018 and 2019, collectively resulting in 346 fatalities and leading regulators worldwide to ground the jet for nearly two years. The company was found to have misled regulators at the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration about the jet’s flight control system.
Boeing paid $2.5 billion in 2021 to defer prosecution on a single count of fraud, but this arrangement fell apart when prosecutors decided to pursue a case after a door panel blew off a Boeing jet during a commercial flight in January 2024.
Although Boeing pleaded guilty in July, the families of the crash victims objected to the deal, arguing it was excessively lenient. Erin Applebaum, one of the lawyers representing the families from the second crash, stated that they deserve their day in court. She emphasized that for six years, the families have awaited the justice system to hold Boeing accountable. Judge O’Connor has now established a trial date, with Boeing’s ongoing reluctance to change its conduct apparently being a decisive factor. Applebaum urges the Department of Justice to stand on the right side of history, reject further plea negotiations, and proceed with full prosecution.