>And that’s the larger point. The Justice Department seems to believe it’s meaningful to charge a company with a felony. But it’s not. Companies don’t commit felonies—people do. And if people aren’t held responsible—and sent to prison when necessary—then they’ll never have the incentive they need to change.

This is at the core of the issue, but as the author points out, it's extremely unlikely to happen.

>The settlement makes it obvious that the government is afraid of what would happen—not just to Boeing but to the Defense Department and even the larger economy—if it hit the company as hard as the company deserves to be hit.

Boeing is very much too Big™ to (be allowed to) fail, and thus the actual individuals who are responsible for killings hundreds of people will walk away and be replaced by another set of people who will know that they can do the exact same thing with impunity.