Boeing reaches settlements with families of three Kenyans killed in Ethiopian Airlines crash
Terms of the settlements were not made public. Fewer than a dozen cases linked to the crash remain unresolved.
Boeing has reached settlements in three lawsuits filed by families of Kenyans who died in the March 2019 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 MAX. The families’ lawyer, Robert Clifford of Chicago, who represents many relatives and was appointed lead counsel in 2019, said.
“We are grateful,” Fredrick Musau Ndivo, the father of Mercy Ndivo, a 28-year-old mother originally from Kenya, told the judge after his family reached a settlement with Boeing, according to ABC News.
More To Read
- Turkish Airlines resumes flights to Mombasa after five-year hiatus
- Ethiopian Airlines resumes flights to Port Sudan after 18-month suspension
- Ex-driver sues Murang’a Governor Kang’ata for allegedly naming him as Ethiopian Airlines crash victim
- AfDB to lead Sh1 trillion funding drive for Ethiopia’s new airport
- Ethiopian Airlines soars with eight per cent revenue growth despite global disruptions
- Ethiopian Airlines executive views new Urumqi cargo route as crucial corridor linking Africa-Asia
“We wish you the best and wish the legal system of America to uphold the rights and justice for the people of all walks of life.”
Terms of the settlements were not made public. Fewer than a dozen cases linked to the crash remain unresolved.
The three victims at the centre of these settlements, Mercy Ngami Ndivo, Abdul Jalil Qaid Ghazi Hussein and Nasrudin Mohammed, each had ties to Kenya. Before the settlement, the US District Court in Chicago had already selected a jury for one case.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed five months after Lion Air Flight 610, another 737 MAX, went down in the Java Sea. An automated flight-control system played a part in both disasters, which together killed 346 people.
Boeing has told Reuters it has settled more than 90 per cent of the civil claims related to the two accidents, paying out billions of dollars through lawsuits, a deferred prosecution agreement, and other payments.
These latest developments come as Boeing continues to face broader legal pressures. US prosecutors previously charged the company with conspiracy to commit fraud, saying Boeing misled regulators about the 737 MAX flight-control system. In both crashes, software repeatedly pushed the aircraft's nose down based on faulty data from a single sensor.
The US Department of Justice has asked a federal judge in Texas to dismiss the felony charge and approve a pending agreement with Boeing.
If the judge agrees, Boeing would avoid prosecution by paying or investing an additional $1.1 billion in fines, compensation for families, and internal safety and quality improvements.
Top Stories Today
