Aircraft maker Boeing has agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion (over Rs 18,350 crore) in fines and compensation after reaching a settlement with the United States Department of Justice for two plane crashes that killed 346 people and led to the grounding of its 737 MAX jetliner model, Reuters reported on Friday.
The aircraft was grounded worldwide in March 2019 after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The grounding was not lifted until November 2020, after Boeing made significant safety upgrades and improvements in pilot training. It was charged with a count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, according to Reuters.
The settlement, which allows Boeing to avoid prosecution, includes a fine of $243.6 million (over Rs 1,788 crore), compensation to airlines of $1.77 billion (Rs 12,991 crore) and a $500 million (Rs 3,669 crore) crash-victim fund over fraud conspiracy charges related to the plane’s flawed design.
“The tragic crashes of Lion Air flight 610 and Ethiopian…