US attorneys have recommended that the Department of Justice (DOJ) pursue criminal charges against Boeing, according to CBS.

The thinking comes after the Justice Department said Boeing had violated a settlement related to two deadly plane crashes involving the 737 Max, which the company denied. These are the plane crash in Indonesia in 2018 and another in Ethiopia in 2019 where a total of 346 people lost their lives.

Boeing declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.

The recommendation is not a final decision and the details of any potential criminal action are not known, CBS reported.

The Justice Department has until July 7 to make a final decision on whether to prosecute Boeing.

“This is a really critical decision coming up,” said Ed Pearson, the executive director of the Aviation Safety Foundation and a former senior Boeing executive.

“There are problems with these planes, we see problems with these planes, and I’m talking about the 737 Max and the 787,” he added.

Last week, relatives of the victims urged prosecutors to seek $25 billion in fines against Boeing and pursue criminal charges.

Under a deal reached in 2021, Boeing agreed to settle by paying $2.5 billion, while prosecutors agreed to ask the court to drop a criminal charge after a three-year period.

Last month, the Justice Department said Boeing violated the agreement, saying it failed “to design, implement and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of US fraud laws throughout its operations.” .

Last week, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun faced grumbling from US senators.

Calhoun testified that the company had “learned” from its past mistakes, but lawmakers accused him of not doing enough to correct them.