Victims' Families Ask Judge to Set a Deadline for Plea Deal Before Trial

The families of those killed in the 2018 and 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crashes are done waiting in the dark. They recently filed a motion in federal court urging the judge to set a firm deadline—May 5—for Boeing and the Justice Department to reach a settlement in the ongoing fraud case tied to the crashes.

A jury trial is currently set for June 23, and families deserve to know if that’s really happening.

Their request follows months of back-and-forth between Boeing and the DOJ, which have been trying (and failing) to strike a new plea deal. The families argue that if an agreement is reached too close to trial, they won't have enough time to prepare, travel, or even process what’s next. “Grieving families need advance notice,” the motion states.

The families also sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on February 6, just one day after she was sworn in, requesting a meeting about the potential deal. They haven’t received any sort of response, leaving them with no clear idea of whether the trial will move forward or be derailed by a last-minute plea.

This all stems from a 2024 accusation by the Biden DOJ that Boeing had violated its original 2021 plea agreement, which was tied to the deadly crashes that killed 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The new plea deal, drafted last July, called for Boeing to plead guilty to one felony charge. Judge Reed O’Connor rejected it in December, citing concerns that the DOJ’s diversity and inclusion policies might affect how the court-appointed monitor was selected.

Since then, O’Connor has extended the deadline for Boeing and the DOJ to sort things out… three times. But as of late March, the judge put his foot down and scheduled the trial. Boeing now has a court date and a charge to answer for as it battles the chaotic international supply chain scene.

In a March statement, Boeing said it’s still engaged in “good faith discussions” with the DOJ. The families, however, would like a little less faith and a little more clarity.

FMI: www.boeing.com