美国国家公共电台 NPR--737MAX空难遇难者家属要求推翻美政府与波音和解协议

Families of 737 Max crash victims want DOJ to rescind¹ Boeing's settlement agreement

Transcript²

The families of the 346 people who died in two Boeing 737 Max plane crashes want a federal judge to rescind a deal with prosecutors³ that kept the airplane manufacturer from facing criminal charges.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The aerospace⁴ company Boeing admitted to criminal misconduct for misleading regulators after two of its 737 MAX airplanes crashed. Despite that, the Justice Department says that the families of those killed are not victims of a crime. Federal prosecutors are making that argument in response to an effort by the families to rescind this deal that gives Boeing and its executives immunity⁵ from criminal prosecution⁶. Here's NPR's David Schaper.

DAVID SCHAPER, BYLINE⁷: On the morning of March 10, 2019, Mick Ryan, an official with the United Nations World Food Programme, boarded Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 bound for Nairobi. His wife, Naoise, was back home with their 3-year-old and 6-month-old.

NAOISE RYAN: That morning, my two kids had crawled into the bed beside me, and we sent a little message to him, you know, just saying - picture of the kids and saying, good morning, Daddy. But the message had sent and wasn't delivered.

SCHAPER: The message wasn't received because Mick was a passenger on the second of two 737 MAX airplanes to crash in less than five months' time, killing⁸ a total of 346 people. Crash investigators⁹ say a new automated¹⁰ flight control system played a significant role in causing both crashes. And investigations¹² found that Boeing and key company employees deceived the FAA about that flawed system when the plane was certified¹³. A Justice Department probe resulted in a charge of criminal conspiracy¹⁴ to defraud¹⁵ the FAA against Boeing. But the DOJ entered into a deferred¹⁶ prosecution agreement, with Boeing admitting to criminal misconduct for misleading regulators but not pleading guilty to the charge. As part of the settlement, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion, with most of it going to the airlines. And if the company lives up to the terms, Boeing and its top executives will be immune from further criminal prosecution.

RYAN: It was like a whole new wound had been inflicted¹⁷ on us.

SCHAPER: Again, Naiose Ryan.

RYAN: It was a sweetheart deal. It wasn't justice. And by giving this immunity, basically the decision-makers have not been held to account.

SCHAPER: So Ryan and other victims' families filed a motion in federal court in Texas, where the case is being heard, to rescind the deferred prosecution agreement. They argue they were not consulted prior to the deal. Their attorney is University of Utah law professor Paul Cassell.

PAUL CASSELL: I think it's quite clear that the Justice Department violated the Crime Victims Rights Act and violated Internal Justice Department policy, which requires conferring with crime victims. That wasn't done here.

SCHAPER: In their court filing, federal prosecutors apologized for not meeting with these crash victims' families before entering into the Boeing agreement. But the Justice Department says that the families are not crime victims under federal law; the FAA is. There was no doubt that Boeing had conspired¹⁸ to defraud the federal government when it deceived the FAA, the prosecutors wrote, before adding that the government's investigation¹¹, however, did not produce evidence that it believed would allow it to prove beyond a reasonable doubt what factors had caused the two fatal plane crashes.

CASSELL: So what the government is saying is that the only victims in this case were FAA bureaucrats¹⁹.

SCHAPER: Attorney Paul Cassell calls the government's position outrageous²⁰ and morally unconscionable.

CASSELL: Our reply is going to make very clear that Boeing's crimes of lying to the FAA directly led to the crashes of these two flights and killed 346 people.

SCHAPER: The Justice Department would not comment further beyond its detailed²¹ court filing. A spokeswoman for Boeing declined to comment on the litigation as well. Meanwhile, additional responses in the case are due in federal court today. David Schaper, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF DARK AND THE SURREALIST'S "KALEIDO_")

1 rescind   

v.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan.他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。
• Trade Union leaders have demanded the government rescind the price rise.工会领导已经要求政府阻止价格上涨。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

4 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

5 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

6 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

13 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

14 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

15 defraud   

vt.欺骗，欺诈

参考例句：

• He passed himself off as the managing director to defraud the bank.他假冒总经理的名义诈骗银行。
• He is implicated in the scheme to defraud the government.他卷入了这起欺骗政府的阴谋。

16 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

17 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

18 conspired   

密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They conspired to bring about the meeting of the two people. 他们共同促成了两人的会面。
• Bad weather and car trouble conspired to ruin our vacation. 恶劣的气候连同汽车故障断送了我们的假日。

19 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

20 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

21 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。