Boeing will plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge related to two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max jetliners, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced late Sunday.

The crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which killed 346 people, prompted federal prosecutors to accuse Boeing of deceiving regulators about the safety of the aircraft and its pilot-training requirements. This decision follows the determination that Boeing breached an agreement that had protected it from prosecution for over three years.

Boeing is facing another setback with its 737 Max aircraft, as a new quality-control issue has been identified, leading to a delay in the delivery of approximately 50 planes. Stan Deal, head of Boeing's commercial airplanes division, revealed in a staff memo that a supplier notified the company about a discrepancy in the drilling of two holes in the bodies of some 737 Max planes. The issue, while not an immediate flight-safety concern, requires rework on about 50 undelivered airplanes.

Alaska Airlines has resumed operations of its Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, following a nearly three-week grounding by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The first flight, Alaska Airlines Flight 1146, is scheduled to depart from Seattle to San Diego on Friday, January 26, at 2:20 p.m. Pacific time.