Boeing ordered to court on felony charge in 737 Max jet crashes; a local victim's family reacts
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- A federal judge has ordered Boeing Co. to be arraigned on a felony charge stemming from crashes of two 737 Max jets – a ruling that threatens to unravel an agreement Boeing negotiated to avoid prosecution.
The two crashes, which occurred in 2018 and 2019, killed 346 people between them, including a south suburban man. CBS 2's Jermont Terry talked with that man's family Thursday night as they hope for some justice.
The ruling by a judge in Texas came after relatives of some of the victims said the government violated their rights by reaching a settlement with Boeing without first notifying the families. U.S. District Court Judge Reed O'Connor ordered Boeing to send a representative to his courtroom in Fort Worth Jan. 26 for arraignment.
On Oct. 18, 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the ocean off West Java, Indonesia, shortly after takeoff. All 189 people aboard died.
About five months later, on March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed, also just after takeoff, near Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people aboard.
One of the people on the Ethiopian Airlines flight was Antoine Lewis form south suburban Matteson, who had been in Ethiopia tracing his family roots.
"He was helping to decide between Ethiopia or Kenya," said Lewis' sister, Antoinette Lewis.
Soon after Lewis' death, the Boeing 737 Max was grounded for a year and a half worldwide. Antoinette Lewis believes her brother's death could have been prevented if Boeing had wanted to do so.
"The plane should have been investigated to the point of stopping production, because they already knew what the issues was," said Antoinette Lewis. "They were just trying to not let it get out there yet."
Boeing has paid settlements to some of the victims' families. Yet the formerly Chicago-based company was immune from criminal charges – until now.
Boeing all along insisted the plane crashes with the same mechanical problems were purely accidental.
But O'Connor ruled last year that relatives of those killed in the crashes are crime victims under federal law and should have been consulted before the Justice Department agreed to a deal under which Boeing paid $2.5 billion to avoid prosecution on a criminal count of defrauding federal regulators who approved the 737 Max.
"We are pleased that the court has agreed with our request for an arraignment, and rejected arguments from Boeing and the U.S. Justice Department," attorney Paul G. Cassell, who is representing families of some of the victims, said in a statement to CBS News Thursday.
Most of the money from the settlement went to airlines that couldn't use their Max jets for nearly two years after the planes were grounded worldwide. Boeing agreed to pay a $243.6 million fine and create a $500 million fund to compensate victims' families.
Last September, Boeing also paid $200 million to settle charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations it misled the public and investors by claiming the plane was safe despite knowing that a flight-control system posed a safety risk.
Now, nearly four years after her family was ripped apart, Antoinette Lewis hopes the right people at Boeing will be held accountable.
"I believe it should go to the very top," she said.
The order to appear in court leaves families like Lewis' hopeful they will get justice.
"I want my brother's killers - and that's basically how I see Boeing, knowing that they were putting bad planes up in the air - I want them to feel the brunt of what they did to all of the families - not just mine," said Antoinette Lewis.
We reached out to get Boeing's response to the order to appear. They had no comment.
Btu we do expect the company to have plenty to say when they go before Judge O'Connor in Texas next Thursday.
