A timeline of Boeing's 737 MAX crisis

STORY: Thirteen minutes after a Lion Air 737 MAX plane took off from Jakarta, Indonesia, in October 2018 it crashed into the sea, killing all 189 people on board.

Five months later an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crashed just six minutes after takeoff, killing 157 people.

There is renewed scrutiny of Boeing – the company that makes the 737 MAX – after subsequent safety incidents, including a mid-air cabin panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight in January 2024.

Here’s a timeline of events in Boeing's 737 MAX crisis.

:: 2017

In March 2017, the 737 MAX gains U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

:: 2018

Just over a year later Lion Air Flight 610 crashes into the Java Sea, killing all on board.

In November, the FAA, and Boeing say they are evaluating software or design changes to 737 MAX jets following the crash.

:: 2019

On March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashes, leaving 157 people dead.

Days later, the FAA and other global regulators ground the 737 MAX, citing evidence of similarities between the two fatal crashes.

By April, the FAA says it is forming an international safety review team.

:: Released April 4, 2019

"We at Boeing are sorry for the lives lost in the recent 737 MAX accidents."

Boeing cuts MAX production by 20%.

In May, it's revealed that Boeing did not tell U.S. regulators for more than a year that it inadvertently made an alarm alerting pilots to a mismatch of flight data optional on the 737 MAX, instead of standard as on earlier 737s.

In October Boeing fires the top executive of its commercial airplanes division, the first high-level departure since the two fatal crashes.

That December, Boeing announces it will suspend 737 MAX production in January and fires CEO Dennis Muilenburg.

:: 2020

In March 2020, Ethiopian investigators single out faulty systems on a 737 MAX plane in an interim report on the crash.

And in May, Boeing says it has resumed redesigned 737 MAX production at a “low rate.”

By July 2020 Boeing reaches settlement agreements in more than 90% of the wrongful death claims filed in federal court after the 2018 Lion Air crash.

:: July 17, 2019

PAUL NJOROGE, FAMILY MEMBER OF CRASH VICTIMS: "The Boeing 737 MAX crashes killed my wife, my three children..."

An investigation by a U.S. House of Representatives panel in September finds Boeing failed in its design and development of the MAX as well as its transparency with the FAA, and that the FAA failed in its oversight and certification.

In November the grounding order is lifted.

:: 2021

Now more than two years after the Lion Air crash, Boeing agrees with the DOJ to pay $2.5 billion to resolve a criminal investigation into the company’s conduct. The agreement includes money for victims’ relatives and requires Boeing to overhaul its compliance practices.

In April Boeing halts 737 MAX deliveries after electrical problems re-ground part of the fleet.

By November, current and former Boeing company directors reach a $237.5 million settlement with shareholders to settle lawsuits over safety oversight of the 737 MAX.

:: 2023

In April, Boeing pauses deliveries of some 737 MAXs to deal with a new supplier quality problem involving non-compliant fittings.

By August, Boeing identifies a new 737 MAX supplier quality problem involving improperly drilled holes on the aft pressure bulkhead.

:: 2024

:: Instagram/@strawberrvy

A mid-air cabin panel blowout compels an Alaska Airlines flight to perform an emergency landing of its recently acquired 737 MAX 9 aircraft in January 2024, prompting the FAA to ground 171 of the jets and initiate an investigation.

A preliminary report by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) finds the door panel appeared to be missing four key bolts.

In March, the FAA’s 737 MAX production audit finds multiple instances where Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems allegedly failed to comply with quality control requirements.

By April, Boeing is hit with further whistleblower claims alleging the company dismissed safety and quality concerns in the production of 787 and 777 jets.

Testimony at the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing raises questions about Boeing’s treatment of whistleblowers, the Alaska Airlines incident, and production concerns.

In May, 737 MAX crash victims’ families press U.S. officials to criminally prosecute the manufacturer.

Also in May The U.S. Justice Department says that Boeing had breached its obligations under a 2021 agreement that kept the planemaker from criminal prosecution on a charge of conspiring to defraud the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration over the crashes in 2018 and 2019.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but has said it believes it honored the terms of the agreement.

The finding raises the prospect Boeing could face criminal prosecution it had previously avoided.