FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) \u2014 Relatives of some of the 346 people who died in two crashes involving Boeing 737 Max planes are expected in court on Friday, where their lawyers will ask a federal judge to throw out a plea agreement that the aircraft manufacturer struck with federal prosecutors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The family members want the government to put Boeing on trial, where the company could face tougher punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty<\/a> to a single felony count of conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with winning regulatory approval of the Max. The settlement between Boeing and the Justice Department calls for Boeing \u2014 a big government contractor<\/a> \u2014 to pay a fine and be placed on probation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Passengers’ relatives call it a sweetheart deal that fails to consider the lives lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe families who lost loved ones in the 737 Max crashes deserve far more than the inadequate, superficial deal struck between Boeing and the Department of Justice,” said Erin Applebaum, a lawyer whose firm represents some of the families. \u201cThey deserve a transparent legal process that truly holds Boeing accountable for its actions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lawyers for the government and the company filed court briefs defending the settlement, and lawyers for the passengers\u2019 families explained their opposition to the deal. U.S. District Judge Reed O\u2019Connor will get to question both sides during Friday’s hearing in Fort Worth, Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the judge accepts the guilty plea, he must also approve the sentence that Boeing and prosecutors agreed upon \u2014 he can’t impose different terms. It is unclear when O’Connor will decide the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boeing is accused of misleading regulators who approved minimal, computer-based training for Boeing 737 pilots before they could fly the Max. Boeing wanted to prevent regulators from requiring training in flight simulators, which would have raised the cost for airlines to operate the plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Justice Department argues that conspiracy to defraud the government is the most serious charge it can prove. Prosecutors say they can’t prove that Boeing\u2019s actions caused the crashes in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n