Boeing pleads NOT GUILTY in Texas court to deceiving regulators about plane safety 'issues'

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has pleaded not guilty to charges the manufacturer deceived federal authorities over the safety of its 737 MAX jets following two high-profile crashes in 2018 and 2019.

Boeing’s chief safety officer, Mike Delaney, entered the not-guilty plea on behalf of the plane-maker in an arraignment Thursday. A not-guilty plea is standard in deferred prosecution agreements.

US District Judge Reed O’Connor last week ordered Boeing to appear to be arraigned after he ruled that people killed in the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes are legally considered ‘crime victims.’

The ruling marks the first time the company has been forced to publicly answer to a criminal charge connected to the 2018 and 2019 disasters, which occurred in Indonesia and Ethiopia, respectively.

The aircraft manufacturer pleaded not guilty to charges charges the manufacturer deceived federal authorities over the safety of its 737 MAX jet following two crashes in 2018 and 2019

The not-guilty plea from the manufacturer comes after families of 350 killed in the two high profile crashes called for increased transparency on the safety of the bestselling jet. Pictured are family members and their attorney Paul Cassell (center) outside the hearing in Forth Worth

The two crashes killed a total of 346 people, and left all Max jets grounded worldwide for nearly two years. They also cost Boeing more than $20 billion, and led to a 20-month grounding for the best-selling plane. 

The planes, however, were cleared to fly again in 2021, after Boeing overhauled an automated flight-control system that activated erroneously in both crashes, after promising to look into the plane’s safety issues. 

US District Judge Reed O’Connor last week ordered Boeing to appear to be arraigned after he ruled that people killed in the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes are legally considered ‘ crime victims’ 

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Families of the nearly 350 killed in crashes, one of which transpired in 2018 in Indonesia and another in 2019 in Ethiopia, objected to a plea deal last week, and are calling for O’Connor name an independent body to oversee Boeing’s compliance.

They are also demanding the judge impose a standard condition that Boeing commit no new crimes, and disclose to the public, as much as possible, of the moves its corporate compliance office have adopted since 2021 to avoid such incidents. 

Under a deal reach in 2021, the Justice Department had agreed not to prosecute the company for conspiracy to defraud the government.

Families of the 350 victims quickly spoke out against the decision, as both Boeing and the DOJ have opposed reopening the agreement.

The deal saw the plane manufacturer dole out $500million in victim compensation to the families, as well a $243.6million fine and $1.7billion in further compensation to airlines forced to ground their fleets because of the disasters.

Under a deal reach in 2021, the Justice Department had agreed not to prosecute the company for conspiracy to defraud the government. Families of the 350 victims quickly spoke out against the decision, culminating in the current lawsuit

In a court filing in November, the Justice Department said it did not oppose an arraignment for Boeing, but said undoing the agreement ‘would impose serious hardships on the parties and the many victims who have received compensation.’

Boeing also said in court filings that it opposes any efforts to reopen the agreement, calling it ‘unprecedented, unworkable and inequitable.’

The Arlington, Virginia-based plane manufacturer declined to comment when reached by DailyMail.com. 

Investigators with the U.S. National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) look over debris at the crash site of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 on March 12, 2019 in Bishoftu, Ethiopia