The Department of Justice (DOJ) notified aerospace giant Boeing it breached its 2021 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) that required compliance commitments following high-profile crashes of its 737 MAX airplane.
In a letter Tuesday, the DOJ notified Boeing the government determined the company breached its obligations under the DPA by “failing to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations.”
The letter, addressed to U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor for the Northern District of Texas, updated the court on the status of the DPA, which Boeing agreed to in January 2021 as part of a $2.5 billion settlement over criminal charges related to the 737 MAX scandal.
The DOJ accused Boeing of conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aircraft Evaluation Group during evaluation of its 737 MAX, specifically regarding technical pilots concealing material information about a critical part of the aircraft that impacted its flight control system.
The result was key FAA documentation, including airplane manuals and training materials, lacking necessary information that led to the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
In January, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, part of Boeing’s 737-9 MAX fleet, lost its door plug mid-flight.
In March, the FAA said it found multiple instances where Boeing “failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements,” including parts handling and storage and product control, according to a blog update. In response to the incident, the airline regulator halted production expansion of the 737 MAX.
The DOJ said Boeing has until June 13 to explain the nature and circumstances of the alleged DPA breach and the actions it has taken to address and remediate the situation. The agency added the company’s response will factor into determining whether it will pursue prosecution.
In an emailed statement, Boeing confirmed receipt of the DOJ’s notification and request for a response.
“We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the department on this issue,” the statement read. “As we do so, we will engage with the department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement, including in response to their questions following the Alaska Airlines 1282 accident.”
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