Boeing agrees to plea deal to avoid criminal trial over deadly 737 Max crashes

Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge to avoid a criminal trial in connection with a Justice Department investigation into two deadly crashes involving 737 MAX jetliners, FOX Business can confirm.

The criminal case relates to two 737 MAX jetliner crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019 in which 346 people were killed, leading to demands from the victims' families for Boeing to face prosecution.

"We can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle on terms of a resolution with the Justice Department, subject to the memorialization and approval of specific terms," a spokesperson for Boeing told FOX Business.

The plea deal still requires a federal judge's approval, but would label the plane manufacturer a convicted felon if accepted. As part of the plea, Boeing will also pay a criminal fine of $243.6 million, a DOJ official told Reuters.