📰 US judge dismisses criminal case against Boeing for fatal crashes | BBC News

 A US federal judge has dismissed a criminal case against Boeing over two fatal 737 Max plane crashes that killed 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that the company had complied with the terms of a 2021 agreement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), under which Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion in fines and compensation. The judge said the agreement protected Boeing from further prosecution.

The crashes — Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in 2019 — led to a global grounding of the 737 Max aircraft for nearly two years.

Families of the victims expressed deep disappointment over the court’s decision, saying it denied them justice. They argued that Boeing should still be held criminally accountable for its role in the disasters.

The DOJ had previously accused Boeing of misleading regulators about a flight control system linked to the crashes. Boeing has since made major safety and design changes to the 737 Max and continues to work on rebuilding its reputation.

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