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.
Boeing’s decision to plead guilty is still a significant black mark for the firm because it means that the company - which is a prominent military contractor for the US government - now has a criminal record.
This is such a a farse it’s ridiculous. Prosecutors are asking to fine the company 24 billion. This 243 million plea deal is crap.
The company and people in charge of it should be fined at the very least.