US DOJ says it has made substantial progress toward final Boeing plea agreement

The U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday the government has made "substantial progress" toward reaching a final plea agreement with Boeing but does not expect to file the details before July 24. The planemaker on July 7 agreed in principle to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of $243.6m after the Justice Department said in May the company had breached a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. The department plans to file a factual statement supporting its breach determination with the plea deal, which it had initially expected to file by Friday. DOJ said it "will continue to work expeditiously in an effort to file" by July 24. Boeing declined to comment on Thursday. Boeing plans to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration after the government said the planemaker knowingly made false representations about key software for the 737 MAX linked to two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Texas on Monday set a fast schedule to consider the objections to the plea deal from relatives of those killed in the MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. As part of the deal, Boeing agreed to spend at least $455m over the next three years to boost safety and compliance programs. Boeing's board will also meet with relatives of those killed in the MAX crashes.<br/>