Dallas, Texas – Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the government in connection to the crashes of its 737 Max jets in Indonesia and Ethiopia, leading to the deaths of 346 people. This comes after the Justice Department found that Boeing had not upheld the terms of a 2021 deal to avoid prosecution.

Prosecutors alleged that two Boeing pilots withheld crucial information from the Federal Aviation Administration regarding a new automated control system on the Max, which was involved in both crashes, causing uncontrollable descents.

By agreeing to plead guilty to the felony charge just before the Sunday midnight deadline, Boeing will avoid a trial in the high-profile case. The Justice Department filed documents related to the deal in federal court in Texas late on Sunday, setting up a hearing where family members, who have expressed criticism of the pending agreement, will have the opportunity to speak out.

As part of the new deal, Boeing will pay an additional $487.2 million in penalties, agree to oversight by an independent monitor, allocate at least $455 million to enhance compliance and safety programs, and be placed on supervised probation for roughly three years.

The agreement also grants crash victims’ families a much-desired meeting with Boeing’s board of directors. This move marks a rare occurrence for a company of Boeing’s caliber to plead guilty to a crime, emphasizing the long-reaching effects of the tragic crashes and the ongoing efforts to rebuild trust with regulators and the public amidst a new safety crisis.

The criminal case delves into the design of the Max, an updated version of the popular 737, which was under pressure to enter service in the 2010s to compete with Airbus. The automated system implicated in the crashes was necessary due to the installation of new, larger engines on the Max.

Boeing’s agreement to pay $500 million to the families of crash victims, improve internal programs to prevent fraud incidents, and cooperate with future investigations or prosecutions is part of the terms agreed upon. However, federal prosecutors found that Boeing had violated the terms of the 2021 agreement, leading to further scrutiny and legal battles.

As the company navigates its way through this crisis, Boeing’s current CEO, Dave Calhoun, is set to step down at the end of the year, signaling a new chapter for the aviation giant in its efforts to restore trust and rebuild its reputation in the industry.