Boeing 737 Max Crash Trial Begins in US Court

A Chicago court has begun the first civil trial related to the Boeing crash in Ethiopia, six years after the disaster killed all 157 people on board. The trial started on Wednesday, while Boeing has already settled most of the dozens of wrongful‑death lawsuits filed by victims’ families. Two remaining cases are now before a federal jury, which was selected on Tuesday.

The lawsuits involve the families of Mercy Ndivo, a 28‑year‑old mother from Kenya, and Shikha Garg, a 36‑year‑old United Nations consultant from India. Both were passengers on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which crashed on March 10, 2019, just minutes after take‑off from Addis Ababa, killing everyone aboard. The aircraft was a Boeing 737 Max, and Boeing has accepted responsibility for this crash and for a similar 737 Max accident five months earlier off the Indonesian coast that claimed 189 lives.

The trial will focus on determining the compensation Boeing must pay to the two families. Lawyers for the families and for Boeing were scheduled to deliver opening statements on Wednesday. This case is significant because it is one of the first instances in which a court will decide the amount of damages owed to victims’ families from the 737 Max crashes.

Boeing has said it is “deeply sorry” for the accidents and has pledged to fully and fairly compensate the families of those lost. The company respects the families’ right to pursue claims in court and has accepted legal responsibility for the incidents. The two cases heard this week were part of a group of five that could have gone to trial, but only two proceeded because of the U.S. government shutdown.

Robert Clifford, a Chicago attorney representing many of the victims’ families—including Ndivo’s parents—said recent attempts to reach a pre‑trial settlement through mediation had failed. Nevertheless, an out‑of‑court settlement in one or both of the current cases could still be reached at any time. The trial’s outcome will be closely watched, as it will set a precedent for future compensation claims related to the 737 Max crashes.