Families of some of the people who died in two Boeing 737 Max crashes are asking federal officials to fine Boeing $24.8 billion and move quickly to prosecute the company on a criminal charge that was set aside three years ago.
The lawyer, Paul Cassell, also wrote that the government should prosecute officials who were leading Boeing at the time of the crashes in 2018 and 2019, including then-CEO Dennis Muilenburg. In all, 346 people were killed in the crashes. The Justice Department has until July 7 to tell a federal judge in Texas whether it will revive the case. During a hearing Tuesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said there is “mounting evidence” that the company should be prosecuted.
The Justice Department opened an investigation into Boeing after a door plug blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. That incident led to increased scrutiny of the company and outgoing CEO David Calhoun, who defended Boeing’s safety record during Tuesday’s Senate hearing.For the second straight year, what's billed as the largest Juneteenth celebration in Washington was held at Tacoma's Stewart Heights Park.