Adam Hancock
Business reporter, BBC News
Boeing has agreed to pay $1.1bn (£811.5m) to avoid prosecution over two fatal airline crashes that killed 346 people.
The payments are part of a settlement with the US Justice Department (DOJ) over crashes involving 737 Max jets in October 2018 and March 2019.
The agreement includes the US aviation giant paying $444.5m to families of crash victims. It will also put $455m towards improving its compliance, safety and quality programmes.
Under the deal, Boeing also agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $487.2m, with half of that already paid in 2021.
“The Department agreed that it will not further criminally prosecute the company, said Boeing in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
If the deal is approved by a federal judge the plane maker will avoid a criminal fraud trial, which was due to begin on 23 June.
The BBC has contacted Boeing and the DOJ to request further comment on the agreement.
Two 737 Max aircraft crashed in separate but almost identical accidents that killed 346 people.
In October 2018, all 189 people on a Lion Air flight died after the aircraft crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after take-off from Jakarta, Indonesia.
In March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed six minutes after take-off from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. All 157 people on-board were killed.
