US, Boeing settles 737 Max disasters

The Boeing has reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice that will prevent the company from taking criminal responsibility for the two air disasters involving 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019. Hosted by many families of the 346 victims, the settlement requires Boeing to admit to obstructing federal oversight, pay a fine, contribute to a fund for the families, and invest in safety and quality programmes. Eight Italians died in the 2019 crash near Addis Ababa. The new agreement must, however, still be approved by the judge overseeing the case.

The latest development in a long judicial saga over accidents that began in the final days of the first Trump administration, the settlement overturns an earlier agreement reached last summer in which Boeing had accepted the Justice Department's offer, under Joe Biden's administration, to plead guilty to conspiracy against the Federal Aviation Administration. The aviation giant's admission of obstructing the FAA does not constitute a guilty plea, explains the New York Times. "Applying the facts, the law, and the Department's policies, we are confident that this resolution represents the fairest outcome with concrete benefits," the Justice Department said in a statement. "Nothing can make up for the victims' losses, but this resolution makes Boeing financially responsible, provides closure and compensation for the families, and helps improve the safety of future air travellers."

The first 737 Max crashed in October 2018 in the Java Sea: 189 people died in the Indonesian Lion Air disaster. In the plane disaster of the Ethiopian Airways five months later, there were 157 victims including the Sicily Region's cultural heritage councillor Sebastiano Tusa, an internationally renowned archaeologist, who was on his way to Malindi for a Unesco conference. And then Virginia Chimenti, Maria Pilar Buzzetti and Rosemary Mumbi, who were involved in various capacities with the World Food Programme; the president of the NGO Cisp and network Link 2007 Paolo Dieci; three volunteers of the NGO Africa Tremila, Carlo Spini, his wife Gabriella Vigiani and treasurer Matteo Ravasio.