Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after the US found the company violated a deal meant to reform it after two fatal crashes by its 737 Max planes that killed 346 passengers and crew.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) said the plane-maker had also agreed to pay a criminal fine of $243.6m (£190m).

However, the families of the people who died on the flights five years ago have criticised it as a “sweetheart deal” that would allow Boeing to avoid full responsibility for the deaths. One called it an “atrocious abomination”.

The settlement must now be approved by a US judge.

  • Pandantic [they/them]@midwest.social
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    6 months ago

    The article title should be “Boeing pays slightly more than one day’s revenue for the negligence that lead to 346 deaths”. This is ridiculous, just a slap on the wrist.

    • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      If corporations are people, then the people responsible for the choices like this one need to be held accountable. No freedom of speech without accountability.

  • fuzzyspudkiss@midwest.social
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    6 months ago

    Boeing’s gross profit last year was $7.7B USD. If you make $50k a year, that would be a fine of $15 for killing multiple people.

  • satanmat@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    “And then children, Boeing was taken away and never heard from again. A whole new company took over building all the aircraft, and it ran with safety as its first priority rather than seeking profit, and every one flew happily ever after…”

  • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    anyone else off just one person on the streets and it is a lifetime sentence in a zoo

    think of that story The Last Capitalist at lot more these days

  • gasgiant@lemmy.ml
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    6 months ago

    So they’ve pleaded guilty to lying about meeting the terms of last time they were found guilty and have paid a small fine. Which is almost certainly far less than the cost of complying for 3 years would have been.

    Well obviously they will have learnt their lesson and this time they’ll certainly comply…

  • ninja@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Boeing pays less than the cost of 2 airplanes for being responsible for the crash of 2 airplanes.