Boeing reaches settlement with 2 families of Ethiopian crash victims

Miami Herald

07-04-2025

Boeing reached a last-minute settlement with families of two people killed in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash, marking another series of cases that concluded before heading to trial and bringing the company closer to ending the legal turmoil from two deadly crashes six years ago.
Antoine Lewis and Darcy Belanger were among 157 people killed when a Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed soon after takeoff in Ethiopia in March 2019. A civil trial to determine damages for the family members both victims left behind was scheduled to begin in Chicago this week, with jury selection set for Monday. Both cases settled Sunday evening.
The Ethiopian Airlines crash, along with a 2018 crash in Indonesia that killed 189 people, was caused by flawed flight control software on the then-new Boeing 737 Max.
In 2021, Boeing accepted responsibility for the crashes in a legal stipulation with the families involved. That stipulation, which was agreed to by all but two of the victims' families, required the company to admit wrongdoing and the plaintiffs to agree not to pursue punitive damages.
It guaranteed payments to each family to recognize the loss of their loved ones and ensured that Boeing could not ask a judge to move the cases to the family's home countries, where they may receive smaller sums.
Boeing has since settled hundreds of lawsuits with victims' families as it works to restore its reputation. The terms of the settlements are confidential.
"We are deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302," a Boeing spokesperson said Monday. "We made an upfront commitment to fully and fairly compensate the families and accepted legal responsibility for the accidents. We will continue to work to fairly resolve the claims of the family members."
There is still one case pending following the crash in Indonesia, according to Mark Lindquist, an attorney who is involved in the proceedings and representing those who lost loved ones in the Ethiopian Airlines crash. Of the 157 people who died in that crash, there are still cases pending for 18 decedents, Lindquist said.
U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso has set trial dates in July and November to resolve the remaining lawsuits.
Lewis, from suburban Chicago, was 39 at the time of the crash. A U.S. Army captain, he was taking a trip to Africa to explore starting a logistics business, attorneys said in a press release Monday.
Belanger, from Denver, was 46 when he died in the Ethiopian Airlines crash. He was a founding member of an environmental advocacy group and was traveling to speak at a United Nations Environment Assembly.
"Although these settlements don't bring back their loved ones, hopefully these settlements will begin to offer some closure to these families who have waited so long for justice," attorney Robert Clifford, who represents several of the victims' families, said in a statement Monday. "And the fight against Boeing will continue for the remaining cases."
Separately, Boeing also faces a criminal fraud charge from the deadly Max crashes. The Justice Department accused Boeing of intentionally misleading federal safety regulators about the new software system on the planes.
Boeing and the Justice Department have twice reached an agreement that would have allowed the company to avoid a criminal trial but both agreements fell through. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Texas recently set a June trial date in the criminal case against Boeing.
Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.