Boeing is summoned to court on Thursday to face the relatives of passengers killed in the crashes of two 737 MAX, who are asking for the revision of an agreement between the aircraft manufacturer and the American government.
During this hearing in Fort Worth, Texas, a Boeing representative must theoretically plead guilty or not guilty to the charges brought against the aircraft manufacturer for its role in the plane crashes of Lion Air in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines. in 2019, which had caused a total of 346 deaths.
Families of victims will then take the floor to present their grievances.
The US Department of Justice reached an agreement with Boeing in January 2021, accusing it of having misled the aviation regulator during the authorization process for MCAS, a key system of the aircraft in question. in accidents, but also granting him a certain immunity in passing.
The so-called Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), which included the payment of $2.5 billion in fines and compensation, provides for the department to drop the indictment after three years if the company meets certain conditions.
An agreement far too complacent in the eyes of the families, who took legal action for not having been consulted.
The magistrate in charge of the case, Reed O’Connor, acknowledged in October that they could be considered “victims of crimes” and therefore had, as such, the right to be heard. Last week, he summoned Boeing to a hearing.
” Preferential treatment “
The plaintiffs would ideally like the judge to revise the deal, including requiring the company to have an independent auditor, according to a document filed Wednesday in which they believe Boeing “has committed the deadliest crime ever committed by a company in the history of the United States”.
“We believe that Boeing received preferential treatment,” a lawyer for the victims, Paul Cassell, told AFP. “This is a case involving the death of 346 people. Why wouldn’t you want an independent team to ensure that criminal behavior is no longer taking place? »
Boeing and the US Department of Justice oppose reopening the deal.
In its indictment, the department pinned the actions of two Boeing employees but did not implicate management.
Prosecutors had also found there was no need to appoint an independent auditor because the wrongdoing was “not widespread” or “facilitated by senior officials”.
In support of the victims’ families’ accusations, the US Financial Markets Authority in September criticized the group and its then chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, for issuing several messages claiming, after the two fatal accidents , that the 737 MAX did not present a risk even though they knew that the MCAS system was a problem.
Without acknowledging or denying the conclusions of the authority, Boeing had then agreed to pay 200 million dollars.
Whether the magistrate will accede to the families’ requests remains very uncertain.
“The judge could cancel the DPA, but I think it’s unlikely,” said John Coffee, a professor at Columbia University, for whom the agreement is indicative of the tendency of the authorities not to want to attack too much hard on big business.
When it comes to prosecuting, “the law grants prosecutors and the executive a great deal of discretion,” he told AFP.
Brandon Garrett, a lawyer at Duke University, believes that courts should consider the public interest when deciding whether or not to validate DPAs.
But they generally opt for a “very restrictive” approach, adds the professor.
And even if Judge O’Connor decided to revise the agreement, “I imagine that the department would appeal, invoking its right to stay the charges,” he notes.
Asked about the hearing by CNBC on Wednesday, Boeing boss Dave Calhoun declined to comment on the merits of the case. But it is normal for families to take every opportunity to share their grievances, he said. “It reminds […] how important safety is. »