SAN FRANCISCO, May 15, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The US Justice Department on
Tuesday said Boeing can be prosecuted for two subsequent 737 Max crashes that
killed 346 people approximately five years ago.

Boeing breached obligations under an agreement that had shielded it against
legal proceedings for the accidents, department officials said in a letter to
a federal court in Texas.

Boeing told AFP "we believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement"
and said that it plans to defend itself.

US officials said in their letter that Boeing breached its obligations under
a deferred prosecution agreement (DFA) by "failing to design, implement, and
enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of
the US fraud laws throughout its operations."

Such a breach would mean Boeing can be prosecuted for any violation of
federal law related to the crashes, according to US justice officials.

The government is evaluating how to proceed in the matter and has directed
Boeing to respond by June 13.

US officials also plan to confer with families of people who died in the Lion
Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashes.

"We will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have
throughout the entire term of the agreement," Boeing said in a statement to
AFP.

It said this also included "response to their questions following the Alaska
Airlines 1282 accident."

The dramatic mid-flight blowout on January 5 of a fuselage panel on an Alaska
Airlines plane precipitated the departures of a series of top Boeing
officials -- including CEO Dave Calhoun, who is set to step down at year's
end.

It also resulted in reduced production of the 737 MAX.

- Multiple inquiries, audits -

The US Federal Aviation Administration was sharply criticized after the
crashes of two Boeing 737 MAX planes in 2018 and 2019.

But as Boeing faces multiple inquiries and audits in the United States and
abroad, it has repeatedly assured critics that it is working "with full
transparency and under the oversight" of FAA regulators.

The DPA required Boeing to pay $2.5 billion in fines and restitution in
exchange for immunity from criminal prosecution for charges it defrauded the
government during the certification of the MAX.

A federal judge in Texas early last year rejected a challenge by relatives of
Boeing 737 MAX crash victims to the aviation giant's US criminal settlement,
ruling against ordering changes to the controversial January 2021 DPA.

The families have argued that Boeing's role in what they have called the
"deadliest corporate crime" in US history merit criminal conviction of the
company and top brass.