The Justice Department argued that federal judges did not have the authority to make the decision.
Published November 6, 2025
A judge in the US state of Texas has approved the Justice Department’s request to dismiss the criminal case against Boeing, despite objections to the ruling.
On Thursday, Fort Worth U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor dismissed the lawsuit, which would allow the plane maker to avoid prosecution on charges related to two deadly 737 MAX crashes: the 2018 Lion Air crash in Indonesia and the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash.
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O’Connor said he disagreed with the Justice Department’s argument that it was in the public interest to close the case, noting he did not have the authority to overturn it.
The government insisted that Boeing was improving and that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was increasing oversight. Boeing and the government argued that O’Connor had no choice but to dismiss the case.
He said contracts with aerospace giants “fail to ensure the accountability necessary to ensure the safety of the flying public.”
Mr. O’Connor held a three-hour hearing in September to consider objections to the deal, questioning the government’s decision to remove three years of independent monitor oversight of Boeing and instead hire a compliance consultant.
O’Connor said the government’s position is that “Boeing committed crimes sufficient to warrant prosecution and failed to correct its own wrongdoing during the period warranting the guilty plea and the imposition of an independent monitor (Deferred Prosecution Agreement). Going forward, Boeing intends to correct its dangerous culture by hiring consultants of its own choosing.”
The Justice Department first filed criminal charges against Boeing over the crashes in January 2021, but also agreed to postpone prosecution in the case.
The plane maker was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. The court found that Boeing misled the FAA regarding the so-called Maneuvering Characteristics Enhancement System, which affects the aircraft’s flight control system.
“Boeing employees chose profit over candor by concealing critical information from the FAA regarding the operation of the 737 Max aircraft and engaging in efforts to cover up their deceptions,” David P. Burns, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said in a statement at the time.
O’Connor said in 2023 that “Boeing’s crimes may rightly be considered the most deadly corporate crimes in American history.”
Under the non-prosecution agreement, Boeing agreed to pay a new $243.6 million fine and more than $455 million to strengthen the company’s compliance, safety and quality programs, as well as an additional $444.5 million to the crash victim fund to be divided equally between each of the victims of the two 737 MAX crashes.
On Wall Street, Boeing shares were up 0.2% as of 11:00 a.m. (16:00 Japan time) in New York.
