The U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday the government has made "substantial progress" toward reaching a final plea agreement with Boeing (BA.N) but does not expect to file the details before July 24.
The department plans to file a factual statement supporting its breach determination with the plea deal, which it had initially expected to file by Friday. DOJ said it "will continue to work expeditiously in an effort to file" by July 24.
Boeing declined to comment on Thursday.
Boeing plans to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration after the government said the planemaker knowingly made false representations about key software for the 737 MAX linked to two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
As part of the deal, Boeing agreed to spend at least $455 million over the next three years to boost safety and compliance programs. Boeing's board will also meet with relatives of those killed in the MAX crashes.
The deal also imposes an independent monitor, who will have to publicly file annual progress reports, to oversee the firm's compliance. Boeing will be on probation during the monitor's three-year term.
The MAX crashes led to a 20-month grounding of Boeing's best-selling plane and cost the company more than $20 billion.
A panel blew off a new MAX 9 jet during a Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines (ALK.N) flight two days before the 2021 deferred agreement that shielded the company from prosecution expired.
Boeing faces a separate ongoing criminal probe into the Alaska Airlines incident, which did not result in any serious injuries, as well as a two-day National Transportation Safety Board hearing next month.
