DALLAS — Boeing will not face criminal conspiracy charges related to two crashes of its 737 Max jetliners that resulted in the deaths of 346 people. A federal judge in Texas granted the government's request to dismiss the case on Thursday.

As part of the agreement to drop the charges, Boeing has committed to pay or invest an additional $1.1 billion. This amount will go toward fines, compensation for the families of the crash victims, and improvements in internal safety and quality measures. Prosecutors had accused Boeing of misleading government regulators about a flight-control system that was implicated in the fatal incidents.

The ruling followed an emotional hearing in September, where relatives of some victims urged U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor to reject the deal. They called for a special prosecutor to take over the case. However, in a written decision issued in Fort Worth, the judge agreed to dismiss the charges.

This case has seen numerous developments since the Justice Department first charged Boeing in January 2021 with defrauding the U.S. government. A previous plea agreement that would have required Boeing to plead guilty fell through after the judge did not approve it.

In a statement following the ruling, Boeing expressed its commitment to honoring the agreement with the Justice Department. The company also emphasized its ongoing efforts to enhance safety, quality, and compliance programs.

The 737 Max was introduced to airlines in 2017. Tragically, all passengers and crew members died in two crashes that occurred less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019. One crash took place off the coast of Indonesia, while the other occurred in Ethiopia.

The Justice Department stated that the latest agreement was in the public interest, as it avoided the uncertainties of a trial that could have resulted in a jury verdict potentially favoring the company. They noted that families of 110 crash victims either supported the resolution of the case or did not oppose the deal.

During the September hearing, over a dozen relatives spoke out against the agreement, with some traveling from as far as Europe and Africa. Nearly 100 families opposed the deal. Catherine Berthet, who came from France, urged the judge to take the case to trial, stating, "Do not allow Boeing to buy its freedom." Her daughter, Camille Geoffroy, was among those who died in the Ethiopian crash shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

The case centers on a software system developed by Boeing for the 737 Max. In both crashes, the software caused the plane's nose to pitch down repeatedly due to faulty readings from a single sensor, leading to a loss of control by the pilots of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines. Following the Ethiopian crash, the 737 Max was grounded worldwide for 20 months. Investigators found that Boeing had not informed key Federal Aviation Administration personnel about changes made to the software before pilot training requirements were established and the aircraft was certified for flight.