Attorneys representing families of Boeing plane crash victims ask judge to block DOJ plea deal
SEATTLE - Lawyers for the relatives of some of the people killed in the Boeing 737 Max Jetliner crash are asking a federal judge to reject a plea agreement that Boeing struck with prosecutors.
Earlier this month, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud. The move would settle accusations that Boeing deceived FAA regulators who approved 737 Max planes.
The deal includes the appointment of an independent compliance monitor, three years of probation, a $243 million fine, and requires Boeing to invest at least $455 million in compliance, quality and safety programs.
To put that into perspective, the company's net worth is a little under $120 billion. Many members of the victim's families want the judge to toss the deal out.
Aviation attorney Mark Lindquist says while often times a judge will rubber-stamp plea deals when presented with complex agreements, the deal fails to mention the deaths of 346 people, which is one of the biggest problems for the victim's families.
"Judge Reed O’Connor can reject the plea deal, and he should do so," said Nadia Milleron, the mother of Max 8 crash victim Samya Stumo. "This is just legalese to cover up Boeing’s responsibility, and not hold them accountable."
Her daughter, Samya, was on the Boeing Max 8 plane that crashed in Ethiopia on March 10th, 2019.
"My daughter is an amazing person. I wish she was still alive. She deserves to be alive," said Milleron.
She feels that the Boeing DOJ plea deal is disrespectful to her daughter and the other victims.
"This plea deal is a façade, a pretend, to hold Boeing accountable," said Milleron.
In light of the door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon in January, she says the current plea deal is full of problems, including limitations on what the independent monitor can do. She's also unhappy with Boeing's participation in choosing that monitor.
"No other criminal gets to choose their parole officer, and the monitor never delves into the problems of engineering and manufacturing which are the actual problems which are the actual problems," said Milleron.
She says the deal also gives the DOJ the ability to form their own opinion on the monitor's findings.
"If you look at it carefully, if the monitor finds they failed, the DOJ can still look at it and say they are fine," said Milleron.
She also feels the $243 million fine isn't enough, and that executives should be prosecuted.
"Jail is a big motivator," she said. "If they showed them jail time, those executives, it would change behavior."
Attorney Mark Lindquist has represented multiple families of victims who died on Boeing planes in crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
"There are many problems with this plea bargain, but the biggest problem is the failure to acknowledge Boeing’s crime killed 346 people," said Lindquist. "This wasn’t just fraud. This was fraud that killed people. While it’s unusual for a judge to reject a complex plea deal, this is an unusual case and there are plenty of reasons for the judge to send DOJ and Boeing back to the bargaining table."
Lindquist says the judge would not be able to change or tweak the deal. He'll have to either accept or reject the proposal. If he rejects it, then DOJ and Boeing would likely go back to the bargaining table to try to return to court with a deal that the judge would accept.
Milleron says if the judge doesn't accept the plea deal, her attorney and others will appeal to the 5th Circuit Court.
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