Boeing has struck a last-minute deal to avoid a civil trial set to begin Monday over the 2019 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX jet, according to lawyers representing the victims’ families.
The Chicago trial was expected to involve two cases brought by relatives of those killed, but both were settled on Sunday evening, the Clifford law firm stated. The crash, which occurred on March 10, 2019, shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa en route to Kenya, claimed the lives of all 157 passengers and crew.
Relatives of 155 victims had filed lawsuits against Boeing between April 2019 and March 2021, citing wrongful death, negligence, and other charges.
Settlements and Remaining Cases
As of late March, 18 lawsuits against Boeing remained unresolved, according to a source familiar with the proceedings. Sunday’s agreements resolved an additional four cases, judicial sources said.
US Judge Jorge Alonso had organized the lawsuits into groups of five or six plaintiffs, stipulating that trials would proceed unless all cases in a group were settled. A similar last-minute deal was reached in November with the family of another crash victim.
Background: Indonesian Crash and MCAS
The Ethiopian Airlines disaster came months after another 737 MAX crash involving Lion Air in Indonesia in October 2018, which killed 189 people. Boeing faced numerous lawsuits from Lion Air victims’ families, with only one still pending as of March.
Boeing has acknowledged its responsibility for the crashes both publicly and in court, admitting that the design of its MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) software contributed to the accidents.
The crashes triggered intense scrutiny, including congressional hearings and leadership changes at Boeing. The entire 737 MAX fleet was grounded globally for over 20 months. Boeing eventually overhauled the MCAS system, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared the aircraft to return to service in late 2020.
Criminal Trial Ahead
These latest settlements come as Boeing prepares for a separate criminal trial set to begin in June in Texas. The trial stems from a deferred prosecution agreement the company reached with the US Justice Department in January 2021 over the two MAX crashes.
However, the Justice Department determined in May 2024 that Boeing had violated the terms of that agreement, following a January 2024 incident where an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX was forced to make an emergency landing after a panel blew out mid-flight.
US District Judge Reed O’Connor subsequently ordered a jury trial to commence on June 23 after rejecting a proposed settlement between Boeing and federal prosecutors.