Pecohub Boeing will not face a criminal conspiracy charge over two 737 Max jetliner crashes that killed 346 people, after a federal judge in Texas on Thursday granted the government’s request to dismiss the case.
As part of a deal to drop the charge, the American aerospace company agreed to pay or invest an additional $1.1 billion in fines, compensation for the crash victims’ families, and internal safety and quality measures.
The agreement lets Boeing choose its own compliance consultant instead of getting an independent monitor.
Prosecutors said Boeing deceived government regulators about a flight-control system that was later implicated in the fatal flights. The ruling comes after an emotional hearing in September in Fort Worth where relatives of some of the victims urged U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor to reject the deal and instead appoint a special prosecutor.
O’Connor wrote Thursday that the deal “fails to secure the necessary accountability to ensure the safety of the flying public.”
Still, he said, the court can’t block the dismissal simply because it disagrees with the government’s view that the deal serves the public interest.
The Justice Department has said a jury trial risks sparing Boeing from further punishment.
The judge also said the government hadn’t acted in bad faith, had explained their decision and had met their obligations under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.
