Boeing officially off the hook for criminal charges in deadly crashes that

A U.S. judge on Thursday approved a request by the Justice Department to dismiss a criminal case against Boeing stemming from two fatal 737 MAX plane crashes that killed 346 people including 18 Canadians.

However, Judge Reed O’Connor, of the U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, Texas, said he disagreed with the Justice Department that dismissing the case is in the public interest but said he did not have authority to reject the decision. He added the government’s deal with Boeing “fails to secure the necessary accountability to ensure the safety of the flying public.”

Boeing said in a statement it will honour the obligations of its agreement.

“We are also committed to continuing the significant efforts we have made as a company to strengthen our safety, quality, and compliance programs,” it added.

In September, O’Connor held a three-hour hearing to consider objections to the deal, questioning the government’s decision to drop a requirement that Boeing face oversight from an independent monitor for three years and instead hire a compliance consultant.

He heard anguished objections from relatives of some of those killed in the crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019 to the non-prosecution agreement.

Ahead of that hearing, Toronto native Chris Moore in a statement characterized the non-prosecution as a “ludicrous plea bargain.” Moore’s adult daughter Danielle was among 18 Canadian citizens and 149 passengers killed when the Max 8 plane bound for Nairobi crashed shortly following takeoff from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa in January 2019.

Moore said the deal shielded “the rich and powerful at the expense of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for the people.”

There were no Canadians among the 181 passengers who died in the October 2018 crash on a domestic flight inside Indonesia. Sixteen crew members in all also died in the Indonesia and Ethiopia disasters.

Judge critical of the deal

O’Connor on Thursday said the government’s position is “Boeing committed crimes sufficient to justify prosecution, failed to remedy its fraudulent behaviour on its own during the (deferred prosecution agreement) which justified a guilty plea and the imposition of an independent monitor, but now Boeing will remedy that dangerous culture by retaining a consultant of its own choosing.”

O’Connor said the families were correct in asserting that “this agreement fails to secure the necessary accountability to ensure the safety of the flying public.”

The government argued Boeing has improved and the Federal Aviation Administration is providing enhanced oversight.

WATCH | Families struggle for accountability amid several Boeing incidents:

The Breakdown | Boeing’s complicated safety history

The National breaks down Boeing’s complicated safety history, what’s changed five years after the Max-8 crashes and the…