NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Boeing has reached a tentative nonprosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in a fraud case stemming from two fatal 737 MAX plane crashes that killed 346 people, people familiar with the matter said.
The agreement would forestall a June 23 trial date the planemaker faces on a charge it misled U.S. regulators about a crucial flight control system on the 737 MAX, its strongest-selling jet.
The agreement would allow Boeing to avoid being branded a convicted felon and be a blow to families who lost relatives in the crashes and had pressed prosecutors to take the U.S. planemaker to trial.
A felony conviction also could have threatened Boeing’s ability to secure lucrative government contracts with the likes of the U.S. Defense Department and NASA, although it could have sought waivers.
Boeing had no immediate comment while the DOJ declined to comment.
