Boeing Escapes Criminal Charges in Max Crashes

0:00It's March 31st. Welcome in. This is Vancouver News today, where local news meets AI. I'm Corey with the story. A federal appeals court shot down a push from dozens of families to restart a criminal case against Boeing over two deadly 737 max crashes. Those flights went down in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people total. In a unanimous call, Tuesday, the judges said prosecutors didn't break victims' rights laws. The saga started when the Justice Department hit Boeing with fraud charges in 2021, but cut a deal to pause prosecution if they paid up. And, fixed issues, Boeing slipped up on that by 2024, leading to a guilty plea attempt that a Texas judge rejected. They renegotiated and he greenlit dropping the whole case last November. Families hit back hard, arguing they got shut out of the talk since 2020. Their lawyers slammed the decision as full of holes, letting Boeing skate on accountability for the deaths. Boeing

1:01stayed quiet but highlighted regrets. Big payouts to victims, safety overhauls, and support from over 60 other families. Those crashes traced back to a glitchy software feature on the new 737 max jets, forcing the nose down from bad sensor data. Pilots on the line air and Ethiopian airlines flights couldn't pull out of it, prompting a worldwide ground order for 20 months. Prosecutors maintained they heard outcrash families for years before sealing the $1.1 billion deal of fines, fixes, and aid. With appeals exhausted, Boeing moves forward changed, but uncharged, leaving some wounds wide open.