Boeing Reaches Settlement Over Ethiopian Plane Crash, Avoiding Trial

The American aerospace manufacturer Boeing has successfully reached a settlement with the family of a victim from the Ethiopian Airlines crash involving a Boeing 737 Max. This agreement has allowed the company to avert a trial that was scheduled to begin in Chicago.

According to the attorney representing the victim's family, the settlement was facilitated by a mediator, and the terms of the agreement remain confidential. Boeing has chosen not to comment on the situation.

The attorney indicated that the victim, a 41-year-old Canadian, aimed to seek substantial damages on behalf of his family members who perished in the tragic incident. Among the 157 fatalities in the March 2019 crash were his wife and three children.

Investigations into the crash revealed that the aircraft, which went down shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa en route to Nairobi, experienced technical issues similar to those of another Boeing 737 Max that had crashed in Indonesia months earlier. In both incidents, a malfunctioning sensor triggered a software system known as MCAS, which repeatedly forced the plane's nose downward, ultimately leading to the loss of control by the pilots.

The aftermath of these crashes led to a worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 Max for 20 months, as aviation authorities sought to address safety concerns. Boeing publicly accepted responsibility for the Ethiopian crash in 2021 and has since worked to reach settlements with the families of the victims, allowing them to pursue claims in U.S. courts rather than in their home countries. Previous settlements have been reached with some families, but the details of those agreements have also not been disclosed.

Another trial involving the families of six victims is set to commence on November 3.