Judge denies request by families of jet crash victims

A US federal judge has ruled against a motion by the families of victims killed in the two crashes of Boeing 737 MAX jets to nullify a deal between the US government and Boeing.

Judge Reed O'Connor of the Northern District of Texas ruled that "it is true the government violated the crime victims' rights" under the Crime Victims' Rights Act, but that the government acted in "good faith" and that it is under no requirement to "disclose certain information" to the families.

He also wrote in his ruling on Feb 9 that the facts didn't support the argument that Boeing was a continued threat to public safety and that he doesn't have the authority to supervise the agreement between Boeing and federal prosecutors.

"No measure of sympathy nor desire for justice to be done would legitimize this court's exceeding the lawful scope of its judicial authority," O'Connor wrote.

MAX jets first went into service in 2017. In October 2018, a MAX jet flown by Indonesian carrier Lion Air had crashed into the Java Sea during a routine flight from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang, killing all 189 passengers and crew.

Less than six months later in March 2019, a MAX jet of Ethiopian Airlines crashed a few minutes after it took off, killing 149 passengers and crews. Investigations showed that both crashes were triggered by design flaws, in particular the flight control software MCAS.

In 2021, the US government brought fraud charges against Boeing, and both parties eventually reached a settlement. Under the settlement, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion in damages and fines and tighten safety compliances. Boeing was also to set up a $500 million fund for the relatives of crash victims.

If Boeing complied with the terms of the settlement, the federal government would drop fraud charges three years later.

Negotiations were kept secret until the settlement was announced. Many of the relatives of those killed in the 737 MAX crashes strongly objected to the settlement and called it a "sweetheart deal" for Boeing.

In last month's arraignment, crash victims' families testified one after another, often in tearful and heart-rending detail, about their loved ones' lives and the hole left behind after their deaths.

The families wanted the court to appoint an independent monitor to check the company's compliance and for increased transparency in Department of Justice (DOJ) dealings with the company.

Attorneys for Boeing and the Justice Department argued in court against the appointment of an independent monitor, saying that the deferred prosecution agreement is working well, and the company is complying with the orders.

The families argued that Boeing knew about problems with the plane after the first crash and failed to prevent the second crash from happening.

Paul Cassell, the families' lawyer, said they will appeal the ruling to the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, according to The Texas Tribune.

"Boeing and DOJ crafted an illegal and secret plea deal without any chance for the families to confer about it, which is required by the Crime Victims' Rights Act," Cassell said in a statement. "We are optimistic our appeal will vindicate the families' rights in this case and ensure that never again are deals like this one reached secretly and without victim involvement."