US accused of offering Boeing ‘sweetheart deal’ over fatal crashes

Planemaker set to be offered plea deal, angering loved ones of the 346 people who died on 2018 and 2019 flights

The US Department of Justice is set to charge Boeing with fraud, but plans to offer the planemaker a plea deal, according to sources familiar with the matter - have infuriated the loved ones of hundreds of passengers who died in two fatal crashes five years ago.

Boeing will be granted until the end of this week to decide whether it will plead guilty to the charge and avoid trial, officials told families of those on board the fatal Lion Air flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 that claimed 346 lives.