Judge Reed O’Connor rejected a plea deal between the US Department of Justice and Boeing Company today. The second deal was rejected after the Alaska door panel blowout breached the first deal.
The First Deal
The first deal, completed on January 7th, 2021, had a three-year period during which safe operations from Boeing would result in charges being dropped and the case finished. But two days prior, on January 5th, a 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines had a door panel blowout that resulted in a decompression, meaning that Boeing failed to meet the required conditions of the original deal.
