Boeing to compensate families of victims of Ethiopia 737 MAX crash

Boeing has reached an agreement with

the families of victims of the 737 MAX crash that killed 157 people in
Ethiopia, and has admitted responsibility for the crash, according to legal
documents filed in a Chicago court on Wednesday.

“Boeing is committed to ensuring that all families who lost loved ones in
the accidents are fully and fairly compensated for their loss,” the company
said in a statement passed to AFP.

“By accepting responsibility, Boeing’s agreement with the families allows
the parties to focus their efforts on determining the appropriate
compensation for each family,” the aerospace giant said.

Flight 302 to Nairobi, operated by Ethiopian Airlines, crashed southeast
of the capital Addis Ababa six minutes after taking off on March 10, 2019.

The accident resulted in the grounding of the 737 MAX fleet, and the worst
crisis in the history of the American aircraft manufacturer, as it came after
a 737 MAX operated by Lion Air crashed in Indonesia in October 2018, killing
189 people.

The lead lawyers for victims’ families hailed the agreement as “historic”
and a “significant milestone for the families in their pursuit of justice
against Boeing.”

“It will ensure they are all treated equitably and eligible to recover
full damages,” said lawyers Robert Clifford, Steven Marks and Justin Green in
a statement.

The agreement proposed Wednesday does not mention specific sums, but said
that jurors will be responsible for assessing amounts of compensation based
on the evidence presented.

The families of the victims will be able to take steps to obtain
compensation in US courts. The 157 people who died were of 35 different
nationalities.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the families of those lost on Lion
Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302,” Boeing said.

“Since the accidents, Boeing has made significant changes as a company,
and to the design of the 737 MAX, to ensure that accidents like those never
happen again,” it added.

The 737 MAX, a new version of the legendary medium-haul plane originally
released in 1967, tarnished the reputation of the aircraft manufacturer and
cost it billions of dollars.

The planes remained grounded for 20 months before being gradually allowed
to fly around the world since the end of 2020. Airlines have brought back
into service more than 200 of the aircraft.

A hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday in Chicago to ratify this
preliminary agreement. There will then be mediations, but if they fail, each
family will be able to present their case to a jury to seek damages,
according to the law of the state of Illinois, where Chicago is located.

In January, Boeing agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion to settle certain
lawsuits. The aeronautical giant admitted that two of its employees had
misled the FAA, the aviation regulator in the United States.

AFP