Boeing has a new reform-minded leader after years of turmoil, a resolved machinists strike and a new contract to deliver up to 210 widebody aircraft to Qatar Airways.
The aircraft manufacturer’s future is looking up, despite uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s on-again-off-again tariff gambit.
But not all is forgiven. A grim shadow over the company remains: the two 737 MAX8 crashes that killed a total of 346 people and the subsequent internal workings exposed during the investigation.
The victims’ families continue to bear the pain of loss, the ache for the truth. The burden is great, exacerbated by the roller coaster of emotion with each twist and turn of the case. Friday, their hopes for justice were crushed when the U.S. Department of Justice lawyers indicated criminal fraud charges against the company would be dropped. The trial was set to begin June 23.
Instead of going to court, the company would be asked to pay an additional $444.5 million into a fund divided evenly per crash victim.
The trial was set after a judge rejected the second agreement the Justice Department made with Boeing to avoid charges. The first was discarded after the federal government determined Boeing had violated the terms.
Families and their lawyers denounced the possibility. Sanjiv Singh, an attorney who represents 16 victims of the first crash in 2018 of a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX8, said, “This is morally repugnant. It is a slap on the wrist. And it feels like a bribe.”
Meanwhile, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg signed a $96 billion contract last week in Doha with President Trump looking on.
If the Justice Department proceeds with this plan, it will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of the victims’ families and the flying public. Much work still needs to be done to demonstrate that Boeing is serious about restoring its once-sterling reputation for excellence and safety.
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