Families of Boeing Crash Victims Stand Against Plea Deal in Court Federal prosecutors in Texas have reached a tentative plea deal with Boeing that both sides are asking the court to accept despite vehement opposition from the families of hundreds of people who died in two MAX jet crashes, according to court filings. Boeing agreed to the deal in July, but opposition from the victims' families and other entities has delayed the proceedings. The criminal case against Boeing stems from two 737 MAX jet crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019, which left 346 people dead. The deal includes an admission that Boeing employees lied to the Federal Aviation Administration about flight control software that played a role in the crashes. Boeing's lawyers argued that representatives for the crash victims knew the terms of the deal before Justice Department lawyers offered it to the aerospace giant.