Boeing Settles With Canadian Father Over 737 Crash \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Boeing has reached a confidential settlement with Canadian citizen Paul Njoroge, who lost his wife, three children, and mother-in-law in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash. The agreement avoids the first jury trial related to the 737 Max disasters, which together killed 346 people and grounded Boeing’s bestselling aircraft worldwide.
Quick Looks
- Boeing settles with Canadian man who lost family in 2019 crash
- Avoids first trial over Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
- Paul Njoroge lost wife, 3 children, and mother-in-law
- Crash killed all 157 passengers and crew on board
- Lawsuit claimed Boeing was responsible for family’s death
- Terms of the settlement remain confidential
- Njoroge previously testified before Congress about the tragedy
- Boeing previously accepted liability for the crash in 2021
- The Max 737 fleet was grounded globally after two fatal crashes
- 346 lives lost in combined Ethiopia and Indonesia disasters
Deep Look
Boeing Reaches Settlement With Grieving Canadian Father Over 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Crash
Boeing reached a confidential settlement on Friday with Paul Njoroge, a Canadian man who lost his entire immediate family in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash that led to the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft. The agreement was announced just days before what would have been the first jury trial linked to one of aviation’s most devastating disasters in modern history.
The settlement brings a close to a deeply emotional legal battle for Njoroge, who lost his wife, Carolyne, and their three young children—Ryan (6), Kellie (4), and Rubi (9 months)—when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed just six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa. Also among the victims was his mother-in-law, whose family has a separate pending case.
The ill-fated flight was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, and claimed all 157 lives onboard. The crash mirrored an earlier 737 Max disaster involving Lion Air in Indonesia, which killed 189 people in 2018. Investigations found that both tragedies were caused by a faulty automated flight control system that pushed the aircraft noses downward based on erroneous sensor data, rendering pilots unable to recover.
Emotional Fallout and Life-Altering Loss
Paul Njoroge, now 41, had prepared to testify in Chicago’s federal court about how the loss of his family destroyed his life. According to his attorney, Robert Clifford, Njoroge still struggles with intense grief, sleepless nights, and career instability, unable to return to the family’s Toronto home due to traumatic memories.
“He’s haunted by nightmares and the unbearable absence of his wife and children,” Clifford said, emphasizing the profound emotional weight that Njoroge has carried since the tragedy.
Clifford noted that his legal team had been preparing tirelessly for the trial, which was scheduled to begin Monday. He described the agreement as a result of successful mediation, though the settlement terms remain undisclosed.
Before the trial, Njoroge had intended to seek millions of dollars in damages, according to his legal team. However, the family chose not to disclose exact figures ahead of the court proceedings.
Legal Strategy and Boeing’s Broader Liability
While the upcoming trial would not have delved into the intricate technical failings of the 737 Max design, it would have marked the first time a jury assessed the personal damages owed to a victim’s family. Boeing had previously accepted responsibility for the crash in a 2021 agreement that allowed victims’ families to pursue individual compensation cases in U.S. courts.
That decision opened the door for hundreds of lawsuits from families across the globe—citizens from 35 countries were killed in the crash. Several cases have already resulted in confidential settlements similar to Njoroge’s.
This latest resolution spares Boeing from a potentially high-profile public trial that could have revived scrutiny over the company’s safety practices and its response to the Max crisis.
The aircraft model was grounded worldwide for nearly two years as Boeing overhauled the automated control system implicated in both crashes. The company has since resumed sales and operations of the Max jets, although reputational and regulatory consequences continue to weigh heavily.
Personal Testimony and Lingering Pain
Njoroge, who met his wife while attending college in Nairobi, has spoken out numerous times in the years since the crash. In 2019, he delivered heart-wrenching testimony before the U.S. Congress, recounting in vivid detail the imagined final moments of his family’s life aboard Flight 302.
“I stay up nights thinking of the horror they must have endured,” he told lawmakers. “The six minutes will forever be embedded in my mind. I was not there to help them. I couldn’t save them.”
That six-minute flight—and its consequences—has defined Njoroge’s life since the tragedy. He has faced criticism from extended family for not accompanying his wife and children on the trip and has struggled to regain personal and professional stability in the years since.
Global Fallout From 737 Max Crashes
The crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 was the second major disaster involving Boeing’s 737 Max jets in under six months. The Lion Air crash in Indonesia raised initial red flags, but the Ethiopian crash confirmed that Boeing’s new flight control system, known as MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System), had fatal flaws.
After the second crash, regulators around the world grounded the aircraft pending investigation. Boeing later admitted that the MCAS system was activated erroneously in both accidents due to faulty sensor readings.
In a separate development this year, Boeing reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to avoid criminal prosecution related to both crashes. The company pledged to implement reforms and pay penalties as part of that settlement.
While Boeing has slowly restored operations for the Max fleet, these ongoing lawsuits and settlements continue to serve as a reminder of the human cost associated with the corporate and engineering failures tied to the aircraft.
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