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The United States Department of Justice accused The Boeing Company of “conspiracy to defraud the United States,” concluding after a lengthy investigation that the company knowingly misled regulators while seeking approval for its 737 MAX aircraft.
In October 2019, pilots struggled to regain control of the MAX and it sank in the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia. Five months later, another MAX crashed near Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa airport just six minutes after takeoff, killing everyone on board and forcing regulators around the world to ground the plane. Three hundred and forty-six people died in both accidents.
Boeing is now entering into a $ 2.5 billion “deferred prosecution agreement” consisting of a criminal fine of $ 243 million, $ 500 million for family members who lost loved ones and $ 1.77 billion for global airlines affected by the immobilization. by MAX.
In an SEC filing published Thursday, Boeing said it accepted the charge “based on the conduct of two former 737 MAX technical pilots.”
“I strongly believe that signing this resolution is the right thing to do for us, a step that appropriately recognizes how we are failing to meet our values and expectations,” David Calhoun, Boeing president and CEO, said in a note to employees. “This resolution is a serious reminder to all of us of how critical our obligation of transparency to regulators is and the consequences our company may face if any of us fail to meet those expectations.”
The researchers found that both crashes were linked to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, software, which had been designed to help stabilize the plane after heavier and repositioned engines placed on the plane caused the nose of the aircraft will point too upward in certain circumstances.
In both crashes, incorrect data from a faulty sensor caused MCAS to fail, forcing the planes to repeatedly bank. MCAS was not mentioned in the pilot’s manual, allowing pilots to enter the MAX cockpit without simulator training, which would have cost airlines more money.
Boeing has been accused of withholding information from the Federal Aviation Administration regarding MCAS. In internal messages that emerged in October 2019, the aircraft’s chief technical pilot, Mark Forkner, told another pilot that the MCAS flight control system was “running rampant” in a simulator session.
Documents released by the House Infrastructure and Transportation Committee show Forkner told FAA officials that MCAS was safe despite calling it “egregious” based on simulator tests, according to internal messages and emails. .
“I basically lied to regulators (unknowingly),” Forkner told his colleague in messages.
Forkner was the main point of contact between the administration and Boeing regarding areas such as pilot training and manual recommendations, an FAA official explained at the time.
Forkner was reportedly questioned by federal prosecutors.
Boeing said in a statement in October 2019 that Forkner’s comments “reflected a reaction to a simulation program that was not working properly and was still being tested.”
In January 2020, Boeing published more than 100 pages of internal communications that the company itself described as “completely unacceptable.”
In one exchange, an anonymous Boeing employee says the 737 Max “is designed by clowns, who are in turn supervised by monkeys,” after complaining about the flight management computer.
In another message from 2018, a Boeing employee asks, “Would you put your family on a MAX simulator-trained aircraft?”
“I wouldn’t,” he said.
“No,” replied the colleague.
Boeing has since rewritten MCAS software, receiving FAA approval for the aircraft to re-enter commercial service on November 18, 2020.
Last week, American flew the first Boeing 737 MAX with paying passengers in nearly two years. United Airlines said it will begin flying the MAX from its Denver and Houston hubs on February 11. Southwest Airlines estimated that the MAX will return to service no earlier than March.
American, Southwest and United have said that they will be completely transparent with customers who are scheduled to fly in a MAX and allow them to rebook without an exchange fee or request a refund if they are not comfortable.
But for family members who have lost loved ones, the changes Boeing made are not enough to convince them that the plane is safe.
“I wish the Boeing executives had been there to experience how the coffins were lined up and wonder who their loved one is,” Zipporah Kuria, who lost her father Joseph Waithaka in the Ethiopia crash, told ABC News. “Having those coffins open and being traumatized by what we saw, what was left of our loved ones, and then maybe they would think ahead, maybe if they walked a mile in our shoes like people who have had to pay for their negligence They would think twice before going ahead and putting this plane back together. “
When asked for comment, the FAA referred to the Justice Department.
Sam Sweeney of ABC News contributed to this report.
