A federal judge in Fort Worth heard arguments Friday but withheld a ruling on whether he would accept a guilty plea by Boeing in connection to the tragic crashes of two 737 Max jets that resulted in the loss of 346 lives.

The proposed agreement would have Boeing plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the federal government by deceiving regulators, which is a felony. But in tough questioning, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor pressed officials from the Justice Department, asking why he should accept a deal that would prevent him from imposing penalties beyond those already negotiated.

The plea agreement, reached in July between Boeing and the Justice Department, has ignited fierce debate.

Boeing has argued that the deal would allow it to have certainty in its future business dealings and would recognize the safety efforts the company has made since the crashes. The Justice Department has defended the decision, saying that it was most likely the best outcome it could get and that it had made adjustments in the agreement to address the concerns of victims’ families.

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But lawyers representing the families have vehemently opposed the agreement, arguing that it falls short of holding Boeing — and particularly individual company executives — accountable for the tragedies.

A Lion Air flight crashed into the Java Sea, killing everyone on board, on Oct. 29, 2018, not long after Boeing’s newly developed 737 Max 8 started to be distributed to airlines. Another crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8, an Ethiopian Airlines flight on March 10, 2019, demonstrated some of the same failures. In addition to the tragic loss of life, the combined accidents proved catastrophic for Boeing, leading to a worldwide grounding of the jets, numerous lawsuits brought by victims’ families and a Justice Department criminal investigation.

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