A U.S. federal judge has approved a request by the Department of Justice (DoJ) to drop criminal charges against The Boeing Company over the deadly 737 Max aircraft crashes, according to a court filing released on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor granted the DoJ’s motion to dismiss the case, which would have otherwise required Boeing to pay or invest more than $1.1 billion as part of the penalty. The decision comes despite heavy public criticism, particularly from victims’ families and advocacy groups who demanded corporate accountability.
The case stems from two fatal 737 Max crashes — Lion Air Flight 610 (2018) and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (2019) — that claimed 346 lives. Boeing had faced allegations of misleading regulators and concealing information about the flight control system linked to the crashes.
While Boeing has already paid $2.5 billion in penalties under a prior settlement, the court’s latest decision effectively ends the criminal proceedings against the company.
