Boeing could soon be subject to criminal prosecution, after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) told a federal judge on May 14 that the company violated a 2021 agreement to make safety improvements. 

Boeing accepted a deferred prosecution deal in 2021 after a pair of deadly 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 respectively, agreeing to pay $2.5 billion and improve its safety management and regulatory compliance. Following months of safety issues in 2024 — starting with the blowout of a door plug aboard a 737 Max 9 on January 5 — the DOJ now says Boeing has failed to meet the requirements laid out in the 2021 agreement. Under the terms of that deal, the company had been placed on a three-year probationary period, which ended days after the January door plug incident. 

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The DOJ did not specify whether it plans to actually move forward with a criminal prosecution over the 2018/2019 crashes, giving Boeing until June 13 to respond and take action to address the potential violations. After that, the DOJ will make a decision on next steps by July 7. 

In a statement to CNN, Boeing claimed they "have honored the terms of that agreement, and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue."

“As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement," they added. 

The New York Times reported in March that a Federal Aviation Administration audit found dozens of manufacturing issues for Boeing's 737 Max aircraft, including one instance where regulators watched mechanics check a door seal with a hotel key card. On May 9, a whistleblower further alleged that Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems had knowingly delivered defective 737 Max fuselages for years.