Boeing Faces Jury Trial Over 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Crash, as Legal Battles Continue
Boeing is set to face a jury trial beginning Monday in Chicago, marking the first civil case related to the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash. This highly anticipated trial is scheduled to last two weeks and involves plaintiffs who lost family members in the tragic disaster. However, just hours before the trial was set to begin, one of the complaints was resolved through an out-of-court settlement, according to judicial sources, in a development that reflects the series of settlements that have taken place in earlier litigation. Despite the settlement, the trial will proceed with jury selection unless further agreements are made.
The crash occurred on March 10, 2019, when the Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crashed just six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 passengers on board. Among the victims were 155 individuals whose families subsequently sued Boeing between April 2019 and March 2021, citing charges of wrongful death, negligence, and other claims. Despite ongoing legal negotiations, 18 lawsuits remain open as of late last month, with recent settlements further reducing the number of active cases. The latest settlement, reached late Sunday, suggests that some progress has been made in resolving the legal fallout from the disaster.
This week’s trial will focus specifically on the case of Canadian Darcy Belanger, a 46-year-old environmental activist and construction worker, who was visiting Nairobi for a United Nations conference at the time of the crash. Belanger was one of the many victims whose families have sought justice for the loss of their loved ones. US Judge Jorge Alonso had previously organized the numerous lawsuits into smaller groups, which could potentially avoid trial if the cases were settled. A previous settlement with the family of a woman killed in the crash also helped streamline the litigation.
The Ethiopian Airlines disaster is part of a larger crisis for Boeing, which faced another fatal crash involving a 737 MAX jet just months earlier. In October 2018, a Lion Air flight crashed off the coast of Indonesia, killing all 189 passengers on board. Boeing is also still addressing dozens of lawsuits from the families of the victims of that crash, with just one case remaining open as of the end of March. The company has settled with most of the families, though the details of these settlements remain confidential.
The core issue behind both the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes was the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), a flight stabilization software that malfunctioned in both incidents. Boeing has publicly accepted responsibility for the MAX crashes, acknowledging that the design of the MCAS system contributed to the disasters. This recognition came in both civil litigation and public statements made by the company. The crashes led to significant scrutiny of Boeing, including congressional hearings where lawmakers demanded accountability. As a result, Boeing made leadership changes and the entire 737 MAX fleet was grounded for more than 20 months. In November 2020, after substantial revisions to the MCAS system, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared the 737 MAX to return to service.
The legal battle for Boeing is far from over. The company is set to face a potential criminal trial in June in Texas related to the MAX crashes. This trial stems from a deferred prosecution agreement made between Boeing and the U.S. Department of Justice in January 2021, following the two fatal crashes. However, in May 2024, the Justice Department informed the court that Boeing had violated the terms of this agreement. The violation stems from a January 2024 incident involving an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX, which was forced to make an emergency landing after a panel blew out mid-flight. This led US District Judge Reed O’Connor to order a jury trial starting June 23, after he dismissed a proposed settlement between Boeing and the Justice Department.
As Boeing faces these ongoing legal challenges, the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash remains a pivotal case in the company’s long-running struggle to address its role in the disasters surrounding the 737 MAX. The outcome of the jury trial in Chicago could set a significant precedent for future cases, especially as Boeing continues to confront both civil litigation and criminal charges in the aftermath of these tragic events.
