Boeing has reportedly settled with the United States Justice Department to avoid a trial regarding the 737 MAX airplane crashes that occurred over five years ago.
Media reports indicate that the American aircraft manufacturer agreed to pay a fine of $243.6 million related to the crashes in Indonesia in October 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019.
These tragic incidents claimed 346 lives across the two flights within a span of less than five months.
As part of the settlement, Boeing will be under the oversight of an independent compliance monitor for three years and is required to invest at least $455 million in compliance and safety programs.
The Justice Department had previously accused Boeing of violating a 2021 settlement by failing to establish an adequate compliance program.
Earlier, in January 2021, Boeing reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the Justice Department for a conspiracy charge, part of which included setting up a $500 million fund for the families of the crash victims.
Additionally, in September 2022, Boeing agreed to pay $200 million to settle charges related to misleading investors about its grounded 737 MAX aircraft, which was out of service worldwide between March 2019 and December 2020.
