US senators urge DOJ to act against Boeing executives over safety concerns By Reuters

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two U.S. senators criticized the Justice Department’s plea deal with Boeing (NYSE: ) reached in July and said the government should take action against the plane maker’s executives “responsible for safety failures,” according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, in a letter to the Justice Department on Wednesday, said the government had failed to hold Boeing accountable for a series of safety problems in recent years.

“It is time for the DOJ to take action against the corporate executives at Boeing who are responsible for putting passengers and workers at risk in violation of federal laws and regulations,” the letter said.

Boeing declined to comment. The Justice Department confirmed it had received the letter and declined to comment.

In July, the plane maker finalized a deal with the DOJ to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration and pay up to $487 million after violating a deferred prosecution agreement from 2021 and face three years of supervision by an independent monitor.

The Justice Department said Boeing allowed potentially risky work at its factories and failed to ensure that key airplane records were accurate or complete.

“For too long, corporate executives have routinely escaped prosecution for criminal misconduct,” the senators wrote. “This move comes at the expense of customer and worker safety and must end. We therefore urge you to carefully consider the conduct and potential culpability of Boeing executives.”

Last week, US District Judge Reed O’Connor said he would hold a hearing on October 11 to consider the objections of relatives of some of the 346 people killed in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes.

The senators said “the combination of a relatively small fine coupled with a toothless commitment to improve aircraft safety has proved insufficient to produce real change at the company”.

They added that “there have been a series of safety failures on Boeing aircraft since the fatal 737 MAX crash, raising ongoing concerns about Boeing’s top-down culture that prioritizes production speed over passenger safety.”

In 2021, a former Boeing chief technical pilot was accused of lying to the FAA about a key flight control system in the 737 MAX. A jury found him not guilty in 2022.

Last week, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told Congress that his agency would “provide rapid, real-time notification of any activity that may be criminal so that the DOJ can take any action it deems appropriate.”

In August, the Justice Department urged O’Connor to accept the settlement, which it says is “a strong and meaningful resolution that holds Boeing accountable and serves the public interest.”