WASHINGTON D.C. (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 8, 2021--S&P Global Ratings said today the Boeing Co. has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding it misleading the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during the development of the 737 MAX. The agreement charges that two company pilots who were developing the training requirements for the MAX misled the FAA about changes to the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that would have increased the required training pilots would need to fly the MAX. Additional training would have resulted in higher costs for the airlines and potentially reduced the attractiveness of the new model compared with its competitor, the Airbus A320neo. MCAS was determined to be the primary
