The US Justice Department stated on Tuesday that Boeing could be prosecuted for two consecutive 737 Max crashes that occurred approximately five years ago, resulting in the deaths of 346 people.
According to department officials in a letter to a federal court in Texas, Boeing violated its obligations under an agreement that had previously protected it from legal action related to the accidents.
Boeing told AFP, "We believe that we have honoured the terms of that agreement," and it plans to defend itself.
US officials said in their letter that Boeing breached its obligations under a deferred prosecution agreement (DFA) by "failing to design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the US fraud laws throughout its operations."
The US justice officials have stated that if there is a breach, Boeing could be prosecuted for any violation of federal law related to the crashes. The government is currently evaluating how to proceed and has instructed Boeing to respond by June 13.
In March 2019, a Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed southeast of Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board.
It was the second accident in five months involving a 737 Max aircraft intended to replace the 737 NG.
The first crash, involving a MAX 8 operated by Lion Air, occurred in October of the previous year in Indonesia's Java Sea and resulted in the deaths of 189 people.
Both aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, and investigations later revealed issues with the automated flight system.
As a result, the aircraft were temporarily grounded or banned from airspace around the world.
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