Washington — The Justice Department said it was deciding whether to prosecute the aircraft maker Boeing Co after federal investigators accused it of violating the terms of a contract. 2021 Deferred Prosecution AgreementAccording to a letter filed in a Texas court on Tuesday.
January 2021 — Below two crashes Several years ago, Boeing Co. and the federal government detained the 737 Max jets that killed 346 people, with the company paying a $2.5 billion settlement in exchange for the Justice Department dropping fraud conspiracy charges three years later. We agreed to abide by the regulations.
The three-year period, overseen by a federal judge in Texas, was set to expire in July and would have ended the case if the Justice Department determined Boeing had fully complied with its terms.
But on Tuesday, federal prosecutors found that Boeing “failed to design, implement, and enforce a company-wide compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws.” , wrote that he had “breached his obligations” under the deferred prosecution agreement. operation. ”
“Boeing has failed to fully comply with its terms and obligations under the DPA and is therefore subject to prosecution by the United States for federal criminal violations,” Justice Department officials said in the letter. “The government is deciding how to proceed with this issue.”
The letter argued that investigators are no longer bound by the 2021 agreement and there are “no limits” to their investigation of the aircraft manufacturing giant.
Boeing has until June 13 to respond to the Justice Department’s complaint, and its explanations will be used by prosecutors as they consider next steps, according to the filing.
The news comes more than five months after the cabin door of an Alaska Airlines plane. blown away during flight, sparking Congressional and federal investigations. This was revealed in March by a person familiar with the matter. confirmed to CBS News. Prosecutors said they were looking into whether anything that led to or contributed to the explosion could have affected the deferred prosecution agreement.
The letter made no mention of the Alaska Airlines flight.
In a statement provided to CBS News on Tuesday evening, a Boeing spokesperson acknowledged that the company had received the letter and said, “We believe we are in compliance with the terms of that agreement and will continue to resolve this matter.” I look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department.” “We intend to engage with the Department on this issue with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the contract period, including in response to questions following the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident.”
A former quality manager who blew the whistle on Spirit AeroSystems, the troubled Boeing supplier that makes most of the 737 Max; told CBS News He was pressured to downplay problems he discovered while inspecting the plane’s fuselage. In his first public appearance last week, Santiago Paredes said he frequently encountered problems while inspecting the area around the door panels of the same aircraft that Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from, minutes after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, on January 5. He said he discovered.
Last month, families of some of the victims of the 737 Max crash met with Justice Department officials for an update on their lawsuit against Boeing. In a letter Tuesday, prosecutors told the judge that the Justice Department “continues to consult with the families of the victims of the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashes,” and that the Justice Department would “separately contact the victims.” I have notified you.” And today, we will inform our airline customers of the violation decision. ”
“This is a positive first step, but it will be a long time coming for the families,” attorney Paul Cassel, who represents the families of the Flight 737 crash victims, said in a statement. “However, we need to see further action from the Department of Justice to hold Boeing accountable, and we hope to use the May 31st meeting to seek a satisfactory remedy for Boeing’s ongoing criminal conduct.” We will explain in more detail what we think will happen.”
Robert A. Clifford, another attorney representing the families of the 737 crash victims, said in a statement: “This is a way for Boeing to be held criminally responsible in court, which is what the families want. They are looking for answers such as: To ensure that we know what actually happened in the crash and that public safety is protected. ”
The Justice Department declined further comment when contacted by CBS News.
— Kris Van Cleave, Michael Kaplan and Sheena Samu contributed to this report.
