Boeing has agreed to pay more than $1.1 billion in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to settle claims over the crashes of two 737 MAX aircraft operated by Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines in 2018 and 2019, according to a statement on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) website.
In accordance with the deal, the corporation will pay a fine of $243.6 million, compensation to the families of the victims in the amount of $444.5 million, and will also invest $455 million in improving safety programs.
On October 29, 2018 A Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed in Indonesia, killing 189 people. On March 10, 2019, 157 people died when an Ethiopian Airlines plane of the same model crashed in Ethiopia. Boeing management later admitted that in both cases the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) malfunctioned shortly before the crash.
Many countries, including Russia, the United States, and EU countries, subsequently grounded the aircraft for safety reasons. Boeing later made changes to the emergency systems. The United States lifted the ban on the Boeing 737 MAX in November 2020, after which a number of other countries resumed operations of these aircraft.