Current or former Boeing Co. executives are unlikely to be prosecuted for two fatal crashes of the plane-maker’s 737 Max jet in 2018 and 2019, US Justice Department prosecutors told families of victims.
The five-year deadline for bringing criminal charges would likely doom any prosecution effort targeting individuals, department officials said during a meeting with families two weeks after informing the company that it had violated the terms of a deferred-prosecution agreement signed in early 2021. The department also said it hasn’t made a decision on whether to charge Boeing.
Robert Clifford, lead lawyer in the families’ civil suit against Boeing in Chicago, urged the Justice Department to put the company on trial this year, stating, Boeing engaged in criminal conduct and should be properly prosecuted and penalized.
