Boeing fined 2,5 billion for the 737 Max

Boeing has been charged with criminal negligence and conspiracy to defraud the United States Department of Justice and will have to pay a $ 2,5 billion fine for making false deposits with the Federal Aviation Administration before and after the deadly crashes. 737 Max in 2018 and 2019.

The Ministry of Justice he said the charges and the fine on Thursday. The $ 2,5 billion fine includes a $ 243,6 million "fine", $ 1,77 billion to be paid to airline customers and $ 500 million to be donated to a fund to help families. and relatives of people who died in the two crashes.

Boeing had announced before the fine that it was imposed a sum of 100 million dollars for the families of the 346 people who died in the accidents. The company had revenue of $ 100 billion and profits of $ 12 billion in 2018.

"The misleading statements, half-truths and omissions reported by Boeing officials to the FAA have hampered the government's ability to ensure the safety of the flying public," U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox said in a statement.

"This case sends a clear message: The Department of Justice will hold manufacturers such as Boeing accountable for regulatory fraud - especially in industries where profits are so high."

The Boeing 737 Max was built to help the company keep up with a new, more efficient fuel supply from rival Airbus. But the company rushed with the plan, which resulted in a plane prone to dangerous behaviors in certain take-off situations.

Boeing has developed software to eliminate this design flaw by automatically pushing the nose of the plane down. But the company never told the FAA, airlines and pilots about the software to save time and money.