Getty ImagesA US judge has rejected a Boeing plea deal intended to settle cases related to two fatal crashes of its planes.
The planemaker originally agreed with the US government in July to plead guilty to one count of criminal fraud, face independent oversight and pay a $243m (£191m) fine.
However, Judge Reed O’Connor on Thursday struck down the agreement, saying it gave the court too little power over the oversight process.
His family members 346 people died in the accident welcomed the verdict, describing the plea deal as a “get-out-of-jail-free card for Boeing.”
The Justice Department said it is reviewing the decision. Boeing did not immediately respond.
In his decision, Judge O’Connor said the agency’s oversight had “failed” in previous years.
“At this juncture, the public interest requires a court step,” he wrote.
He said the proposed contract would not require Boeing to follow the monitor’s recommendations and give the company a say in choosing a candidate.
Those issues were also raised by some of the families of those who died on the flights. Death criticized the institution as a system of “love” that did not hold up well.
Judge O’Connor focused on contractual requirements to consider race when hiring a monitor, which he said undermined confidence in the selection process.
He said he was concerned about “shifting and conflicting explanations of how the plea agreement’s diversity-and-inclusion provision works.”
“In a case of this magnitude, it is in the best interest of justice that the public have confidence that this monitor selection is made solely on the basis of merit,” he wrote.
“The parties’ DEI efforts will only serve to undermine this confidence in the government and Boeing’s ethics and anti-fraud efforts.”
Ike and Susan Rieffel of California, who lost their two sons, Melvin and Bennett, said the judge did the “right thing” in rejecting the proposed deal.
“This agreement held no one accountable for the deaths of 346 people and did nothing to protect the flying public,” he said. He said In a statement issued by his lawyer.
He said he hoped the verdict would pave the way for “real justice”.
An ongoing crisis
Boeing and the Justice Department have 30 days to develop a new plan in response to the ruling.
The planemaker is struggling to overcome the shadow cast by two, similar crashes of its 737 Max planes in 2018 and 2019.
An aerospace giant A new Boeing plane operated by Alaska Airlines was plunged into crisis again in January when a door panel exploded shortly after take-off.
The incident raised questions about what Boeing has done to improve its safety and quality record since accidents involving the company’s flight control system.
The door panel malfunction occurred shortly before the end of the three-year period of increased monitoring and reporting.
Boeing agreed to the oversight as part of a 2021 plea deal to resolve allegations it defrauded regulators of its flight control system.
In May, the Justice Department said Boeing violated the terms of that agreement, opening the possibility of legal action.
Instead, the two sides struck another deal, angering families who had hoped to bring the company to trial.
In the ruling, Judge O’Connor wrote that it was not clear what Boeing did to breach the 2021 agreement.
Nevertheless, he wrote, “if Boeing’s violation of the (deal) is taken to be true, it is fair to say that the government’s effort to ensure compliance has failed.”
Erin Appelbaum, a partner at Kreindler & Kreindler, who represents some of the families of those killed in 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, called Thursday’s ruling a “great decision and a significant victory” for the victims’ families.
“We look forward to a significant renegotiation of the plea agreement that includes terms that are truly commensurate with the gravity of Boeing’s crimes,” he said.
“It’s time for (the Justice Department) to end its lenient treatment of Boeing and demand real accountability.”
