Over six years after the tragic crash of a Boeing 737 Max jetliner in Ethiopia, which claimed the lives of all 157 passengers and crew on board, the first civil trial related to the disaster is set to commence. While Boeing has settled the majority of the wrongful death lawsuits filed by the victims’ families following the March 2019 crash, two remaining cases are scheduled to go before a federal court jury in Chicago as early as Tuesday. The trial, taking place in Boeing’s former headquarters city, will not re-examine the company’s liability, as Boeing has already accepted responsibility for the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash and a similar incident in Indonesia that killed 189 people less than five months prior. Instead, an eight-person jury will determine the compensation owed to the families of Mercy Ndivo, a 28-year-old Kenyan mother, and Shikha Garg, a 36-year-old Indian consultant for the United Nations. Both women were among the victims of the fatal crash, which occurred minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. Ndivo, who had just earned a master’s degree in accountancy in London, left behind her husband and infant daughter, now nearly 8 years old. Garg, en route to a U.N. environmental assembly in Nairobi, is survived by her husband and parents. Boeing expressed its condolences in a statement, reiterating its commitment to compensating the families and acknowledging its legal responsibility. However, attempts to reach pre-trial settlements through mediation have failed, prompting the families to seek justice in court. The trial’s outcome could set a precedent for future cases, as Boeing continues to face scrutiny over its handling of the 737 Max’s flawed flight-control system, which contributed to both crashes. The Justice Department has proposed a deferred prosecution agreement, which, if approved, would require Boeing to pay or invest $1.1 billion in fines, victim compensation, and safety improvements.
Boeing may face its first civil trial seeking damages for deadly Ethiopia crash
