By Katherine Hamilton

Boeing and the Justice Department reached a tentative agreement for the plane maker to pay $1.1 billion to avoid prosecution for two passenger-jet crashes.

The nonprosecution agreement would mean that Boeing would avoid a trial -- which was scheduled to start June 23 -- for two crashes of its 737 MAX jets that left 346 people dead.

The Justice Department said it anticipated filing a motion to dismiss Boeing's case no later than the end of next week.

Through the agreement, Boeing would have to put $455 million toward strengthening its compliance, safety and quality programs, and give $444.5 million to the families of crash victims, the Justice Department said Friday. It would also pay a criminal monetary penalty of $487.2 million.

Boeing would also admit to conspiracy to obstruct and impede the Federal Aviation Administration's operations of its Aircraft Evaluation group, the agreement says.

The criminal case stems from Boeing's admission that former employees deceived air-safety regulators before the crashes, which happened in 2018 and 2019. Boeing resolved an investigation in 2021 by agreeing to improve its antifraud-compliance program, but prosecutors said in 2024 the company had violated that settlement.

The latest agreement also requires Boeing to continue to improve its antifraud-compliance and ethics program. It would have to retain an independent compliance consultant, who would recommend further improvement and report back to the government.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department told families of the crash victims that Boeing no longer agreed to plead guilty in the planned trial, The Wall Street Journal reported. The department told families the government could still lose the trial, meaning it wouldn't be able to get further relief for them, the Journal reported.

"They hold a broad set of views regarding the resolution, ranging from support to disagreement," a Justice Department spokesman said of the victims' families. "Ultimately, in applying the facts, the law, and Department policy, we are confident that this resolution is the most just outcome with practical benefits."

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 23, 2025 16:51 ET (20:51 GMT)

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