American Military News by Lauren Rosenblatt - The Seattle Times 3/28/2025
A federal judge has set a trial date in the criminal fraud case against Boeing, the latest step in the grinding legal process following two fatal 737 MAX crashes six years ago.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor on Tuesday set a trial date, potentially changing the course of the prosecution after several months of behind-the-scenes discussions between Boeing and the Justice Department.
After the crashes in 2018 and 2019, which killed a total of 346 people, the Justice Department charged Boeing with fraud related to allegations that the company intentionally misled safety regulators about a new software system on the MAX.
Boeing agreed in July to plead guilty, part of a plea deal with the Justice Department, but O’Connor rejected the deal in December. That sent Boeing and the Justice Department back to discussions.
O’Connor had set an April 11 deadline for Boeing and the Justice Department to provide an “update on how they plan to proceed.”
But on Tuesday he vacated that deadline and set a trial for June 23 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The families who lost loved ones in the MAX crashes welcomed the news of a trial on Tuesday. They have pushed for the Justice Department to do more to hold Boeing accountable and hope a trial will lead to that result.
“We are pleased to see Judge O’Connor set this case for trial,” said Sanjiv Singh, an attorney who is representing 16 families who lost loved ones in the first crash, in Indonesia in 2018. “We hope that the Justice Department will agree that a corporate entity which killed hundreds of people and endangered millions of lives should be held accountable.”
More:
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2025/03/trial-ordered-in-criminal-case-against-boeing-stemming-from-max-crashes/
