Families of Boeing crash victims are urging DOJ to pursue criminal charges against the company

(WASHINGTON) – The families of victims killed in one of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashes met with Justice Department officials Wednesday about the looming decision to prosecute or dismiss charges against the company.

The fatal Boeing crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 killed 346 people. Relatives of victims of the 2019 crash in Ethiopia met with prosecutors in Washington DC on Wednesday.

The first crash on October 29, 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia, killed all 189 passengers and crew.

The second crash, on March 10, 2019, occurred in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, when a Boeing plane crashed minutes after takeoff, killing 157 people on board.

Both crashes preceded the Alaska Airlines incident earlier this year, when a door plug fell from the fuselage of a newer model Boeing 737 Max 9 after departure.

After a five-hour meeting on Wednesday, attorneys for the families of some of the victims said they had not received any additional information about whether the Justice Department will move to dismiss charges against Boeing after the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA ) who has achieved it with the company.

Lawyers for the families also said they were not given specific information about how prosecutors are investigating the Alaska Airlines blowout.

In 2021, the DOJ charged Boeing with “conspiracy to defraud the United States,” following a lengthy investigation that the company knowingly misled regulators while seeking approval for its 737 MAX aircraft.

Boeing has reached a $2.5 billion deferred prosecution agreement, which includes a $243 million criminal penalty, $500 million for family members who lost loved ones and $1.77 billion for global airlines affected by the MAX groundings.

The government has until July 7 to decide whether to dismiss the criminal case, extend the agreement or prosecute.

Attorney Paul G. Cassell told reporters on Wednesday: “The meetings with the Justice Department were what we feared — all for show and without substance.”

“It is clear that they are only interested in seeing through the falsified deferred prosecution agreement they made with Boeing, without the involvement of the families whose lives were destroyed by the company’s fraud and misconduct,” Cassell alleged.

“We will pursue every opportunity to continue our challenge of the DPA and ensure that Boeing is truly held accountable,” he said.

Cassell told ABC News that if the DOJ were to drop the charges against Boeing, they “will aggressively fight Boeing in the Northern District of Texas and any other court as necessary.”

“Remember, Boeing has already admitted and committed a crime, and their charges have been filed in Texas,” Cassell said. “We just want the case to move forward and let the jury decide whether Boeing is a criminal or not.”

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Boeing declined ABC News’ request for comment.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, who announced he would step down at the end of this year, said after the January incident: “Whatever final conclusions are drawn, Boeing is responsible for what happened. An event like this should not take place on an aircraft leaving our factory.”

Wednesday’s meeting comes the same day Boeing announced it lost $355 million due to declining first-quarter sales, signaling further pressure on the aerospace company.

James Hill of ABC News contributed to this report.

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