Families of plane crash victims urge DOJ to prosecute Boeing

Some of the families of victims who died in Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes are urging DOJ to prosecute Boeing

Families of those who died in two deadly Boeing crashes are pushing the Department of Justice to prosecute Boeing on criminal charges.

SEATTLE - Families of those who died in two deadly Boeing crashes are pushing the Department of Justice to prosecute Boeing on criminal charges.

They met with officials Friday. Boeing agreed in 2021 to pay more than $2 billion, mostly to airlines, to avoid prosecution on a fraud charge. It appeared the case would be dismissed permanently, but the Alaska Airlines door plug blow-out in January over Oregon led to new investigations.

Just two weeks ago, the Department of Justice determined that Boeing violated the terms of a deferred prosection agreement, or DPA, that let the company avoid prosecution. An attorney for one of the victim's families says the purpose of the meeting was to get feedback from those families on whether to move forward with a fresh prosecution.

"DOJ has determined that Boeing violated the conditions of the deferred prosecution agreement. The question remains, ‘What is DOJ going to do about it’?, said Mark Lindquist with Mark Lindquist Law, Aviation and Personal Injury. "They can extend the original deferred prosecution agreement, they can make another plea agreement with Boeing, or they can proceed forward with an enhanced prosecution."

Darcy Belanger died in the Boeing 737 Max 8 crash in Ethiopia. He was taking a flight to Kenya for a UN meeting. Lindquist represents Darcy's wife.

"Though the victim’s families are pleased the Department of Justice determined Boeing violated the deferred prosecution agreement, there was still a lot of frustration in the room. First, victim families would like to see individual executives at Boeing prosecuted, not just the company," said Lindquist.

Lindquist said the DOJ indicated that there are some obstacles to prosecution. Those include a statute of limitations with the crashes happening more than five years ago. Also, potential problems with providing proof in the case. He cited the example of a Boeing employee that was acquitted by a jury in that case.

"DOJ looks at the acquittal of Mark Forkner as an example of the risk involved in a trial. Personally, I view Mr. Forkner differently than a top ranked executive. Jurors acquitted Forkner I think, because he looked like a scapegoat," he said.

Lindquist says despite obstacles, the victim's families feel it's time to bring down the hammer.

"There was a general sense from the victim families that DOJ is not prosecuting this case vigorously enough," said Lindquist.

In a statement, Boeing said:

"We are deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.

As we shared previously, we believe that we have honored the terms of the agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Justice Department on this issue. As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement, including in response to their questions following the accident on Jan. 5."

We don't know yet when the DOJ might make a decision on how it plans to move forward.