Boeing seeks to undo plea deal in 737 Max criminal case, WSJ reports
Boeing is attempting to reverse a previous agreement to plead guilty in a high-profile criminal case tied to allegations that the company misled regulators before two fatal 737 MAX crashes, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing sources familiar with the talks.
The aircraft manufacturer is now pursuing a more favorable resolution from the Department of Justice, which — under the new Trump administration — is reassessing several unresolved criminal cases.
Last July, Boeing appeared poised to finalize a guilty plea for defrauding the Federal Aviation Administration, but that agreement was blocked in December by a federal judge in Texas, effectively delaying the case into the current administration.
The Justice Department, under new leadership, may be open to revisiting the terms of the agreement, the Journal reported. Potential outcomes include allowing Boeing (BA) to withdraw its guilty plea or reducing some of the penalties. Such a move would illustrate a broader shift toward a more lenient stance on corporate misconduct cases.
Both parties are still working out how to revise the original deal before presenting it to U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, who is overseeing the case. One idea being considered is whether Boeing (BA) could avoid being placed under the supervision of an independent compliance monitor, the Journal reported.
Representatives for Boeing (BA) and the Justice Department declined to comment to the Journal on the ongoing negotiations.
Corporate probation
The original plea deal, reached during President Biden’s term, followed a prior arrangement that put Boeing (BA) on corporate probation for three years. Just as that probation period was nearing its end, a mid-air incident involving an Alaska Airlines 737 Max — where a door panel detached — triggered renewed federal scrutiny. This led to a fresh DOJ investigation and claims that Boeing (BA) had failed to meet the conditions of its probation, including addressing falsified inspection reports at its South Carolina facility.
Although Boeing (BA) initially contested the DOJ’s findings, it eventually agreed to plead guilty. The deal included a $243 million fine, a $455 million investment in safety and compliance upgrades, and a requirement to appoint an outside monitor.
Effect on defense contracts
The company’s concerns included the potential consequences of holding a felony conviction, such as needing special waivers to continue receiving defense contracts. Boeing (BA) last week secured a Pentagon deal to produce the new F-47 fighter jet, beating out Lockheed Martin (LMT).
Despite seeking changes to the plea deal, Boeing (BA) intends to uphold its commitment to invest around $400 million in safety and quality improvements, the Journal reported.
Judge O’Connor previously rejected the plea deal, citing concerns that diversity considerations had been part of the selection process for the compliance monitor. His ruling aligned with the Trump administration’s broader opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies across both public and private sectors. At the time, prosecutors maintained that monitors are selected based purely on merit from a wide pool of qualified candidates.
The judge has also called Boeing’s (BA) conduct potentially the most lethal instance of corporate crime in U.S. history. While he did not explicitly suggest scrapping the guilty plea or eliminating the monitor requirement, his future stance on any revised agreement remains uncertain.
O’Connor has allowed the families of the 346 victims from the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes to have a voice in the case. The families have consistently urged for tougher consequences, demanding Boeing (BA) publicly acknowledge its role in the fatalities.
In a court filing last year, they argued, “Corporate criminals like Boeing should not be permitted to escape the truth or the consequences of their actions.”