Families of Boeing crash victims say the US failed to consult them
More than a dozen families of people killed in two Boeing 737 Max crashes are accusing the Justice Department of illegally leaving them in the dark when it reached a settlement with the company this year. In a court filing on Thursday, 15 families accused the department of denying them an opportunity to weigh in on a criminal investigation into Boeing under a 2004 law meant to protect victims of crime and their representatives. They are asking a federal judge to force the department to turn over documents related to that investigation and to revoke the company’s protection from further criminal prosecution on the matter. “What happened here in the waning days of the previous administration was a complete short circuit of the congressionally mandated process for the victims to be conferred with and have an opportunity to influence the outcome,” said Paul Cassell, a former federal judge who is representing the families. The 15 families who brought the motion were joined by dozens more who signed on in support of it, representing a significant share of the 346 people killed in two Max crashes, in Indonesia in 2018 and in Ethiopia in 2019. The episodes led to a global ban of the plane for nearly two years, a debacle that cost Boeing billions of dollars and prompted investigations around the world. Under the Justice Department’s settlement, which was announced in the final weeks of the Trump administration, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5b, most of it to the airlines that suffered financial losses because of the ban. A further $500m went to a fund for the families or representatives of the victims and about $250m was to be paid as a criminal penalty to the federal government. A Justice Department spokeswoman said the agency was reviewing the motion and would respond in court. Boeing declined to comment. Even at the time the deal was announced, many criticized it as inadequate. Representative Peter DeFazio, a Democrat from Oregon and the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said it was a “slap on the wrist and is an insult to the 346 victims who died as a result of corporate greed.” The families said that the Justice Department not only left them in the dark about the settlement, but also misled them by falsely telling them that there was no criminal investigation into Boeing.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-12-17/general/families-of-boeing-crash-victims-say-the-us-failed-to-consult-them
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Families of Boeing crash victims say the US failed to consult them
More than a dozen families of people killed in two Boeing 737 Max crashes are accusing the Justice Department of illegally leaving them in the dark when it reached a settlement with the company this year. In a court filing on Thursday, 15 families accused the department of denying them an opportunity to weigh in on a criminal investigation into Boeing under a 2004 law meant to protect victims of crime and their representatives. They are asking a federal judge to force the department to turn over documents related to that investigation and to revoke the company’s protection from further criminal prosecution on the matter. “What happened here in the waning days of the previous administration was a complete short circuit of the congressionally mandated process for the victims to be conferred with and have an opportunity to influence the outcome,” said Paul Cassell, a former federal judge who is representing the families. The 15 families who brought the motion were joined by dozens more who signed on in support of it, representing a significant share of the 346 people killed in two Max crashes, in Indonesia in 2018 and in Ethiopia in 2019. The episodes led to a global ban of the plane for nearly two years, a debacle that cost Boeing billions of dollars and prompted investigations around the world. Under the Justice Department’s settlement, which was announced in the final weeks of the Trump administration, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5b, most of it to the airlines that suffered financial losses because of the ban. A further $500m went to a fund for the families or representatives of the victims and about $250m was to be paid as a criminal penalty to the federal government. A Justice Department spokeswoman said the agency was reviewing the motion and would respond in court. Boeing declined to comment. Even at the time the deal was announced, many criticized it as inadequate. Representative Peter DeFazio, a Democrat from Oregon and the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said it was a “slap on the wrist and is an insult to the 346 victims who died as a result of corporate greed.” The families said that the Justice Department not only left them in the dark about the settlement, but also misled them by falsely telling them that there was no criminal investigation into Boeing.<br/>
