‘Reprehensible' deal: Families urge judge to reject plea between DOJ, Boeing

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Reed O'Connor heard arguments in Fort Worth about whether or not he should approve a plea deal between Boeing and the U.S. Department of Justice over two 737 Max jetliner crashes that killed 346 people.

In the agreement, Boeing would plead guilty to conspiracy in connection with the 2018 crash in Indonesia and 2019 crash in Ethiopia.

Terms of the agreement include Boeing paying a fine of at least $243.6 million, $455 million on compliance and safety programs, and be placed on probation for three years, under the supervision of an oversight monitor that would be chosen by the DOJ.

During the hearing, attorneys for the DOJ called the plea "reasonable and in the public interest."

Boeing attorneys began by apologizing and expressing sympathy to victims' families.

They said the company "has made sweeping and comprehensive" safety changes, and plans to do more.

They also said Boeing has already made payments to families in civil litigation, settling over 90% of those cases.

But attorneys for victims' families argue that the plea deal on the table doesn't go far enough.

They said Judge O'Connor can reject the agreement if it doesn't adhere to sentencing guidelines or reflect the seriousness of the crime, and that he should do so.

“It’s a rotten plea deal that has provisions in it that are morally reprehensible," said Paul Cassell, one of the attorneys for victims' families.

The Justice Department argued that conspiracy to defraud the government is the most serious charge it can prove and that they don't have enough evidence to show that Boeing's actions caused the crashes in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia.

Cassell said that means the plea's fine is calculated without taking those 346 victims into account.

“The sentencing guideline treats this as a victimless crime when in fact it was a very deadly crime," he said. "The truth is that 346 people were killed by Boeing and they should be sentenced accordingly."

Cassell called it the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history.

Mark Pegram and his son, Tom, stowed their anxiety over flying to represent their loved one, Sam, who was 25 years old when he died.

“It’s not an easy decision to come here. As you can imagine, having lost someone in a plane crash, getting on a plane yourself, is an ordeal in itself," Mark said. “It was a tough decision to come here but I felt I had to come here today because this is the last chance to throw out this sham of a deal that does not give accountability for 346 deaths.”

Victims' families also said a key component needs to be an independent corporate monitor, to make sure Boeing complies with safety rules to prevent future crashes. The U.S. government, they added, is a major customer of Boeing's.

“What we need is an independent corporate monitor appointed by the judge, with real clout, with the ability to protect the flying public in the future," Cassell said.

The deal also doesn't guarantee restitution, he said.

“Typically, when a defendant in this courthouse pleads guilty, he says, ‘I promise to pay restitution to the victims,’ and that standard language isn’t being used in this case," Cassell said.

“Right now, both Boeing and the government are committing to make ‘lawful’ restitution. But of course, we already know that Boeing is going to say that any restitution is unlawful and we don’t know exactly what the government’s position is," he added.

Nadia Milleron, mother of victim Samya Stumo who died in the Ethiopian crash, said another important detail that came out during the hearing was an email exchange between Ethiopian Airlines pilots and Boeing.

“And they said, ‘What do we do if there’s a problem like they had in Indonesia?’ What do we do?’ And Boeing emailed them back and said, ‘We can’t tell you, because there’s an investigation going on,’” she said.

During court, Cassell argued that had Boeing answered the pilots' questions, lives would have been saved.

One of Boeing's attorneys told Judge O'Connor that those emails were "not news," and had been handed over to the DOJ and investigators a long time ago.

Cassell said victims' families only recently found out about the exchange, unsealed this week.

“I lost my child and she should not have died. She should not have died," said Katherine Berthet, victim Camille’s mother who flew in from France.

Families said putting Boeing on trial would help possibly uncover more information on their loved ones' deaths.

“If the judge agrees to this agreement, we will be lost to the truth. We will never know why our loved ones died," said Ike Riffel. He and his wife, Susan, lost their only two sons in a Boeing crash.

“We need to have Boeing held accountable, and that means having a criminal trial exposing all the information and all the data that the Department of Justice has and pointing a finger at individuals," said Chris Moore, father of crash victim Danielle Moore.

He and his wife drove 29 hours from Toronto for Friday's hearing, afraid of flying ever since their daughter died.

“Even though it’s been a long time, every night I still dream of that six minutes and four seconds, what did she do? Did she cry for us?” cried Clariss Moore, referring to the time between the Ethiopian flight's take-off and crash.

She, like the other families in the courtroom on Friday, donning their loved ones' pictures around their necks or in their hands, want Boeing's executives to face families in a trial. She called the agreement a sweetheart deal.

“DOJ’s supposed to be working for the families. For the crime. For the people. For our loved ones. For 346 lives. Yet, they are hand-in-hand with Boeing," Clariss said. “Even today, that breaks my heart, seeing them together on one side, and I am here, driving 29 hours to fight for justice for my daughter."

“DOJ’s supposed to be working for the families. For the crime. For the people. For our loved ones. For 346 lives. Yet, they are hand-in-hand with Boeing," Clariss said. “Even today, that breaks my heart, seeing them together on one side, and I am here, driving 29 hours to fight for justice for my daughter."

Naosie Connolly Ryan flew in from Ireland to be a voice for her late husband, Mick, she said, father of their two young children.

"He was someone that believed in justice and saving lives," she said. “The Department of Justice needs to investigate, and there needs to be a trial for transparency.”

Judge O'Connor told the courtroom he'd issue his decision as soon as possible. The victims' attorneys said there's no indication of when that might be.