REFILE-EXCLUSIVE-Boeing near deal to avoid guilty plea, prosecution in fatal crashes case, sources say

By Mike Spector, David Shepardson, Allison Lampert

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Boeing has reached a tentative nonprosecution agreement with U.S. prosecutors in a fraud case stemming from two fatal 737 MAX plane crashes that killed 346 people, people familiar with the matter said.

The agreement would forestall a June 23 trial date the planemaker faces on a charge it misled U.S. regulators about a crucial flight control system on the 737 MAX. It would require a judge's approval.

Boeing has no longer agreed to plead guilty in the case, prosecutors told family members of crash victims during a Friday meeting, the sources said. The company's posture changed after a judge rejected a previous plea agreement in December, prosecutors told the family members.

DOJ officials are still weighing whether to proceed with a nonprosecution agreement or take Boeing to trial, a DOJ official said during the meeting. No final decision has been made, and Boeing and DOJ officials have not yet exchanged papers to negotiate final details of any nonprosecution agreement, the official told family members.

Boeing and the DOJ had no comment.