After being heard in court, families of 737 MAX crash victims hope judge changes Boeing immunity deal
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – Families whose loved ones died in the two crashes involving Boeing 737 MAX jets have sharply criticized a deal the U.S. Justice Department struck with the company two years ago.
Paul Njoroge lost his wife, three young children, and mother-in-law. "It was kind of like a sweetheart deal really for Boeing."
"That's not justice. It's a secret agreement."
The first plane, operated by Lion Air, crashed after takeoff in October 2018, while an Ethiopian Air jet went down after takeoff in March 2019.
In all, 346 people were killed.
Under the deferred prosecution agreement or DPA, Boeing would not be indicted, even though it's charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with two employees accused of misleading the FAA on how the MAX jet's flight controls operated.
On Thursday, Boeing's Chief Safety Officer pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy charge on the company's behalf.
Relatives like Naoise Connolly Ryan, who lost her husband, want stiffer penalties against Boeing. "We want to see real justice and there has to be prosecutions for manslaughter."
Their attorney, Paul Cassell, is challenging the agreement, which he said gives immunity to Boeing and its executives at the time. "Those provisions should be rescinded and removed from the agreement because they were executed in violation of the law and the victims were never conferred with. They have a right to confer with prosecutors before immunity is extended and those rights were denied to them."
The families say they had no input in the agreement between Boeing and the Justice Department because prosecutors wouldn't recognize them as crime victims.
U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor overruled prosecutors last fall and found relatives are crime victims.
Court records show after the judge's ruling, prosecutors met with the victims' families and agreed that going forward, they would meet with representatives about certain decisions in the case.
Those two developments led to Thursday's hearing at the federal courthouse in Fort Worth, where families testified about losing their loved ones.
But prosecutors said in court filings they still oppose any changes to the DPA with Boeing.
As part of the agreement, Boeing agreed to pay a $243 million criminal monetary penalty, $1.7 billion to the airlines that purchased the 737 MAX jets, and an additional $500 million to the victims' heirs and relatives.
In a statement Thursday, Boeing said, "...We also are committed to continuing to comply scrupulously with all of our obligations under the agreement..."
Cassell said they aren't giving up. "We have the law on our side and we have truth and justice on our side and when you have both of those things, you're always hopeful you're going to get the right result."
During Thursday's hearing, the families also asked the judge add an independent monitor to ensure Boeing is committed to safety.
Boeing and the Justice Department opposed the request, saying it is unnecessary.
The judge is considering the request.