Boeing faces crash victims' families in federal court

Boeing is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud in the case of two deadly 737 Max crashes.

The 2018 and 2019 crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people. Boeing's 737 Max was grounded for nearly two years, pending changes to the flight control system that led to the accidents.

Boeing had settled the case with Department of Justice, agreeing to pay $2.5 billion. Victims' family members say they were left out of settlement negotiations, though, and are now asking a federal judge to hold the company criminally responsible for their loved ones' deaths. They are accusing the manufacturer of deceiving federal authorities and concealing information about the 737 Max.

Boeing pleaded not guilty at its arraignment in Texas Thursday morning.

Richard Aboulafia, an aviation industry analyst and managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory, says the case is unprecedented.

"[There's] a possibility that it's just, basically, going to be an opportunity for everyone to speak their piece," Aboulafia says. "Beyond that, it's far from clear what the ramifications would be."

After the government settlement, he says the perception was the company would be shielded from further prosecution.

"A lot of people are scratching their heads over that," he says. "Could they charge them more money? Could people go to jail? I guess it doesn't seem terribly likely. But on the other hand, we're completely in uncharted waters here."

Aboulafia notes Boeing has made changes to the so-called MCAS system that led to the 737 Max crashes, clearing the way for the plane to return to the skies. He doesn't expect the case will have any impact on sales.

"Customers are sticking with the plane," he says. "There's still a pretty healthy stream of orders. I don't see how this is going to have any impact."

That begs the question, though: "How does this play out?"