“Boeing derives significant revenue from contracts with the U.S. government, including the Defense Department, which could be jeopardized by a felony conviction, one of the sources said.”
The 2021 deal let Boeing skip a fraud conspiracy charge over two fatal 737 MAX crashes, and a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines jet two days before it expired. Prosecutors now want charges, the families want a fine of nearly $25 billion, and the Justice Department has the option to extend the deal by a year. The buried line is the defence contracts. A felony conviction puts them at risk, and that risk is Boeing’s best argument for another deal.