Boeing agrees to plead guilty to felony charge over fatal 737 Max crashes

July 8 (UPI) -- Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a single felony charge of conspiracy to defraud the government in connection to two crashes of its 737 Max jet that killed nearly 350 people during a six-month span in 2018 and 2019.

The plea agreement was announced in a late Sunday court filing by the Justice Department, The New York Times reported. The document states Boeing agrees to pay the maximum fine allowed under law of $487.2 million and invest at least $455 million over the next three years in its compliance and safety programs.

The embattled aerospace company will also be put on probation for three years as part of which the Justice Department will install a compliance monitor to ensure safety measures have been implemented and followed, The Times reported.

Boeing confirmed to UPI in an emailed statement that it has reached an agreement with the Justice Department but did not specify what that agreement entails.

"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 Boeing spokesperson said.

The agreement comes as the Justice Department has been investigating Boeing and its safety practices following a series of recent issues that have plagued the company's public image, including a door plug blowing off a 737 Max jet mid-flight in January.

Last month, federal prosecutors said those issues violated a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that had resolved a criminal charge of conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration stemming from pilots withholding information about issues with the jet that was involved in the fatal Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 302.

Both flights plummeted to the Earth shortly after take off, killing a combined 346 people.

Attorneys for families of the victims of the crash late last month said they had been briefed on the plea deal and that they "strenuously object" to it.

"I can tell you that the families are very unhappy and angered with DOJ's decisions and proposal," Robert Clifford, a senior partner at Clifford Law Office, said. "And the families will most certainly object before Judge Reed O'Connor and ask that he reject the plea if Boeing accepts."