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The 737 MAX jet resumed carrying passengers late last year after a long grounding. NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images
Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a criminal charge that it sought to deceive the Federal Aviation Administration as it sought initial certification for the troubled 737 MAX jet.
The Justice Department disclosed the agreement Thursday in a news release, titled in part, “Boeing Charged with 737 MAX Fraud Conspiracy.” The department said it and the company had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement that will give Boeing amnesty if it meets certain criteria.
“Boeing’s employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General David P. Burns of the department’s Criminal Division.
An all-new plane would, frankly, be a bit of a surprise coming out of the pandemic. Boeing has talked about plans for what it has called a new medium-size aircraft, or NMA, since 2017, but no decision about development has been announced. Even the size of that plane isn’t set in stone. Originally, industry executives expected it to be a twin-aisle jet, but others have said more recently that it might be a single-aisle plane.
Boeing, Airbus, and GE didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
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