Criminal case against Boeing over deadly 737 Max plane crashes is dismissed by a US judge
Nov 6, 2025, 7:42 AM
FILE - A Boeing 737 Max jet prepares to land at Boeing Field following a test flight in Seattle, Sept. 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A federal judge in Texas has agreed to dismiss a criminal conspiracy charge against Boeing in connection with two 737 Max jetliner crashes that killed 346 people.
In a written decision issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor approved the federal government’s request to dismiss its case against Boeing as part of a deal that requires the aircraft maker to pay or invest an additional $1.1 billion in fines, compensation for the crash victims’ families, and internal safety and quality measures.
The ruling came after an emotional hearing in early September when relatives of some of the victims urged O’Connor to reject the deal and instead appoint a special prosecutor to take over the case.
All passengers and crew members died when the planes went down off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019. Prosecutors had alleged that Boeing deceived government regulators about a flight-control system that was later implicated in the fatal flights.
