US Court Dismisses Criminal Charges Against Boeing Over 737 MAX Crashes
A US federal court dismissed criminal charges against Boeing over two crashes of its 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people, following a non-prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice. The crashes were caused by malfunctions in Boeing's MCAS flight control software, which the company failed to disclose to the FAA. Boeing paid 1.1 billion dollars in settlement and committed to strengthening its safety and regulatory compliance programs.
What happened
Boeing's flight control software MCAS malfunctioned in a Lion Air 737 MAX 8 in October 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 in March 2019, causing both aircraft to crash. Boeing did not inform the FAA about technical issues with the MCAS software before these crashes.
A federal judge in Texas dismissed the criminal prosecution of Boeing on 6 November 2025 following a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) reached in May 2025 between Boeing and the US Department of Justice.
Reported impact
A total of 346 people died in the two crashes. Dozens of civil lawsuits were filed in the United States, with the first civil trial beginning in the week of the court's dismissal decision.
Index analysis
Boeing admitted to the charges that it sought to obstruct and impede the FAA's work. The software malfunctions were identified as the root cause of both crashes.
Governance controls
Under the NPA, Boeing paid 1.1 billion dollars, with 444.5 million dollars directed to a compensation fund for the 346 victims' families, a 244 million dollar fine, and committed to invest 455 million dollars to strengthen its internal safety, quality and regulatory compliance programs.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.