Boeing finalizes guilty plea for 737 MAX fraud, paying $243.6 million; negative.

From Investing.com: 2024-07-24 23:36:09

Boeing finalized a guilty plea to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge, agreeing to pay at least $243.6 million for breaching a 2021 agreement with the U.S. Justice Department. The planemaker failed to ensure key airplane record keeping was accurate or complete, violating the deferred prosecution agreement.

Boeing confirmed filing a plea agreement with the Justice Department for conspiring to defraud the FAA by making false representations about 737 MAX software. The company plans to strengthen safety, quality, and compliance programs in collaboration with regulators moving forward.

The Justice Department found Boeing breached obligations in the deferred prosecution agreement related to misrepresentations involving a software feature linked to fatal 737 MAX crashes. The discovery came after a panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX in January exposed ongoing safety concerns.

Boeing failed to ensure documentation of parts removal during aircraft manufacturing, leading to concerns about the completion of necessary work. The company also disclosed some employees falsified test results at its South Carolina plant, which was under investigation by the FAA.

Senior Boeing executives apparently prioritized moving aircraft through factories over reducing out-of-sequence work to ensure production quality. An ongoing criminal probe is focused on an Alaska Airlines jet missing key bolts that were not properly documented during removal.



Read more at Investing.com: Boeing finalizes 737 MAX guilty plea deal, US outlines reasons By Reuters