FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal judge on Friday ordered a hearing next month on the Boeings plea agreement to conspiracy in connection with the 737 Max jetliner, two of which crashed, killing 346 people.
Families of some of the passengers killed in the crash are protesting the deal. They want to take Boeing to court, where it could face harsher penalties.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor set a hearing for Oct. 11 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Boeing is accused of misleading regulators who approved minimal, computer-based training for Boeing 737 pilots before they could fly the Max. Boeing wanted to prevent regulators from requiring training in flight simulators, which would have increased the cost for airlines to operate the plane.
The Justice Department argued in court filings that conspiracy to defraud the government is the most serious charge it can prove. Prosecutors said they lack evidence that Boeing’s actions caused the 2018 crash in Indonesia and the 2019 crash in Ethiopia.
Relatives of the victims and their lawyers have called the settlement a sweetheart deal that does not take into account the loss of so many lives. Some of the attorneys have argued that the Justice Department treated Boeing leniently because the company is a large government contractor.
The agreement requires Boeing to pay a fine of at least $243.6 million, invest $455 million in compliance and security programs, and be sentenced to three years of probation.