USA: Boeing pleads guilty to fraud to avoid criminal trial

In the United States, the Justice Department announced that Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge related to two deadly crashes of 737 Max airliners.

A federal judge will weigh the plea and sentence that are part of the agreement reached between the aerospace giant and U.S. prosecutors.

In October 2018, a Boeing 737 MAX crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing 189 people; and another 6 minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing 157 people.

Boeing's decision came a week after the Justice Department gave the company the choice between a guilty plea and a trial.

Prosecutors say Boeing violated a 2021 agreement that shielded it from prosecution.