Boeing: Families in legal action against US over air crash

Families of those who died in a crash involving Boeing's controversial 737 Max aircraft have filed a legal motion against the US government.

They accuse Washington of secretly drawing up a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), enabling Boeing to get immunity from criminal prosecution.

Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 crashed minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa in March 2019.

It was the second crash involving the 737 Max, a new design.

Faulty flight control software was later found to have triggered both accidents, in which a total of 346 people died.

Only one person has so far been indicted on criminal charges related to the crashes - former chief technical pilot Mark Forkner.

He stands accused of defrauding the US regulator, the FAA, by deliberately withholding information about the flight control software.

The motion, filed in a Texas District Court, accuses the US Department of Justice (DoJ) of concealing the existence of a criminal investigation into the company, and of misleading relatives of ET302 victims by denying that any such investigation existed - while at the same time working with Boeing to resolve the investigation.

The DPA was unveiled in early January, days before the new US administration took office. Boeing agreed to pay fines and compensation worth $2.5bn.

At the time, the DoJ said: "Boeing's employees chose the path of profit over candour by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception."

Lawyers for the victims have pointed out that the DoJ attorney responsible for negotiating the agreement subsequently joined the law firm which signed it on behalf of Boeing.

They have called on the court to rescind Boeing's immunity from prosecution.

Boeing declined to comment.