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posted by Fnord666 on Friday January 08 2021, @08:24AM   Printer-friendly

Boeing to pay $2.5bn to resolve 737 MAX criminal probe in US:

Boeing Co will pay over $2.5bn to resolve the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into two deadly 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people, the DOJ said, but will not be forced to plead guilty to criminal charges.

The DOJ said the settlement includes a criminal monetary penalty of $243.6m, compensation payments to Boeing's 737 MAX airline customers of $1.77bn, and the establishment of a $500m crash-victim beneficiaries fund to compensate the heirs, relatives and legal beneficiaries of the passengers.

[...] Boeing admitted in court documents that two of its 737 MAX Flight Technical Pilots deceived the FAA about a key safety system tied to both fatal crashes called MCAS.

Boeing Chief Executive David Calhoun said in a statement the agreement "appropriately acknowledges how we fell short of our values and expectations."

The airline payment fund will include prior payments already made by the Boeing to airlines.


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Friday January 08 2021, @08:35AM (12 children)

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Friday January 08 2021, @08:35AM (#1096927) Journal

    No prison time for the decision makers, eh?

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by driverless on Friday January 08 2021, @09:04AM (4 children)

      by driverless (4770) on Friday January 08 2021, @09:04AM (#1096929)

      Boeing Co will pay over $2.5bn to resolve the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into two deadly 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people, the DOJ said, but will not be forced to plead guilty to criminal charges.

      Just pay us some money and we'll make it all neatly go away, no repercussions for anyone. In the meantime we'll be busy requesting a life sentence for some black guy caught with a few ounces of weed, we'll make sure he doesn't get away with that one, just you wait.

      • (Score: 2) by looorg on Friday January 08 2021, @09:06AM

        by looorg (578) on Friday January 08 2021, @09:06AM (#1096930)

        It seems to pay better to be a Boeing customer then being, the family of, an airline casualty.

      • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @02:56PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @02:56PM (#1096991)

        or an unarmed white woman gets murdered by a black cop in the capital. her name is ashli babbitt.

        • (Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @05:44PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @05:44PM (#1097044)

          You mean a member of an armed, violent, murderous mob gets shot in self-defense while trying to invade the seat of government. The traitor's name is ashli babbitt.

      • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Saturday January 09 2021, @03:31AM

        by Thexalon (636) on Saturday January 09 2021, @03:31AM (#1097295)

        Also worth keeping in mind with these kinds of deals is the simple fact that a company like Boeing wouldn't agree to $2.5 billion unless they had every reason to believe that the crimes they were guilty of, and the ensuing civil liabilities for what would come out at trial, would be significantly higher than $2.5 billion.

        But yeah, apparently when you commit your crimes with a limited liability corporation, you can get away with absolutely anything (see also: the Sackler family and their international drug ring).

        --
        The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by SpockLogic on Friday January 08 2021, @12:43PM (2 children)

      by SpockLogic (2762) on Friday January 08 2021, @12:43PM (#1096962)

      No prison time for the decision makers, eh?

      No prison time = No justice.

      --
      Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 08 2021, @03:42PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 08 2021, @03:42PM (#1097004) Journal

        It sounds like $2.5 Billion worth of Boeing's money is getting some prison time. Until Boeing can get that money back through higher priced cost plus contracts. Maybe a few more delays on SLS. Or a Starliner catastrophe that requires at least $2.5 Billion worth of redesign work it look much more like a Dragon 2.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 09 2021, @04:32AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 09 2021, @04:32AM (#1097306)

        Boeing/McDonald-Douglas needs a few key members of management to end up publicly humiliated, made to beg for their lives, then executed for this travesty.

    • (Score: 4, Funny) by fakefuck39 on Friday January 08 2021, @04:38PM (2 children)

      by fakefuck39 (6620) on Friday January 08 2021, @04:38PM (#1097025)

      >two of its 737 MAX Flight Technical Pilots deceived the FAA

      see, if anyone would go to prison, it would be these two pilots, who lied to the FAA and cost the innocent company $2.5b in fines, and the deaths of several hundred people. this is the fault of these two people. now, they didn't design anything, they didn't have input into how the system works or make a single decision about it. but it's fully their fault, and they have been fired from this honest large corporation. and at no point did this company try to avoid safety regulation or reviews by designing w completely new airplane with completely new uncertified systems, and do everything in its power to make it look like it's just the same old safe and proven machine. Oh, the engines aren't round on the bottom anymore to add some clearance? that's just the lens on your camera and eyes. what, you've never looked at the edge of a photograph and see everything is fisheye-stretched?

      https://youtu.be/egQdXGMU4xc?t=191 [youtu.be]

      • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday January 08 2021, @05:42PM (1 child)

        by fustakrakich (6150) on Friday January 08 2021, @05:42PM (#1097042) Journal

        Well, there are the people that decided redundant sensors aren't needed. They are Boeing's equivalent to Ford's Lee Iacocca, who made the Pinto so famous. So, yeah, several people should be locked up

        --
        La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
        • (Score: 2) by fakefuck39 on Friday January 08 2021, @06:58PM

          by fakefuck39 (6620) on Friday January 08 2021, @06:58PM (#1097069)

          i... i don't know whether to say whoosh or not.. i'm very confused over your reply. bravo good sir. what are your thoughts on chicks with dicks? are they really just dudes with boobs?

    • (Score: 2) by edIII on Saturday January 09 2021, @07:57PM

      by edIII (791) on Saturday January 09 2021, @07:57PM (#1097596)

      Exactly. Until executives are actually KILLED, or EXECUTED for their negligence that results in hundreds of deaths, or in other cases, thousands of deaths, there will be ZERO deterrent against their continued behavior.

      China gets it correct. Those executives over there that knowingly cut the baby milk with bad chemicals were dragged out and shot, and then their families billed for the bullets. In China, they KNOW that if they do these things and get caught, especially in the public eye, that the government will take quick and decisive action to give the people want they want. Whether that's a form of justice, and vengeance, it's result is the same. Deterrence.

      How many people on this site violate speed limits on a routine basis? In part because you know it might just be a fine? What if every single moving violation was punished by a minimum of 4 hours of community service, every weekend, for the next 30 days? Would you speed less?

      Fines are in no way a deterrent to the rich and powerful, there are merely fees for their bad behavior to be excused. There must be punishment. Period.

      That's why I won't ever get into a 737 MAX for my entire fucking life. I have zero faith that is safe, precisely because of the greed of those executives overriding science, engineering, and their humanity.

      This isn't the first bullshit to go on either. I can recall when the electrical wiring and conduits were installed incorrectly, that could result in a dangerous situation over time. Executives complained it would be too expensive to correct, and they should be allowed to move those planes into service.

      All of those planes should be moved to Tuscon, AZ. Where they can bake in the sun and be stripped for parts. Let those executives suffer a multi-billion dollar fuckup, and pay for it.

      --
      Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 08 2021, @12:40PM (1 child)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 08 2021, @12:40PM (#1096961) Journal

    This is Boeing. They'll lobby congress critters, and get that much padding on a contract. Cost-plus contracts are truly wondrous things.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @02:35PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @02:35PM (#1096985)

      They already got it included in their portion of the COVID-19 bailout package.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @02:54PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 08 2021, @02:54PM (#1096989)

    if you're a corporate criminal.

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 08 2021, @03:38PM (2 children)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 08 2021, @03:38PM (#1097002) Journal

      Crime does not actually pay.

      Rather, it gives bonuses and executive stock options with generous golden showers parachutes.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Friday January 08 2021, @05:57PM (1 child)

        by Grishnakh (2831) on Friday January 08 2021, @05:57PM (#1097051)

        I'm pretty sure those things still count as "pay". Bonuses and stock options are compensation; it doesn't have to be a regular W-2 paycheck to qualify as "pay".

        • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 08 2021, @10:26PM

          by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 08 2021, @10:26PM (#1097171) Journal

          If it were 1099 income, I suppose that would still count as 'pay'.

          --
          People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 0) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday January 08 2021, @10:38PM

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Friday January 08 2021, @10:38PM (#1097175) Homepage

      Or a vaccine manufacturer. The difference between Boeing and vaccine manufacturers is that Boeing occasionally has to face public accountability for killing people with reckless business decisions. Guess the money they saved using foreign coders would have been better-spent on lobbyists rather than executive bonuses.

  • (Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Friday January 08 2021, @05:40PM

    by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 08 2021, @05:40PM (#1097041) Homepage Journal

    And now this payment resets everything to hunkydory.
    We can safely fly on 737 Maxes again.
    And book rides on the starliner.

    -- hendrik

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