Boeing Settles with Canadian Man Over 737 Max Crash Deaths

Boeing has reached a confidential settlement with a Canadian man whose entire family was killed in the March 2019 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 Max aircraft. The man, Paul Njoroge of Toronto, lost his wife, three young children, and mother-in-law in the disaster that claimed 157 lives.

The settlement, whose terms remain undisclosed, comes just days before a scheduled trial in the U.S. District Court in Chicago. It would have been the first jury trial against Boeing related to the two fatal 737 Max crashes—one in Indonesia in 2018 and the other in Ethiopia in 2019—that together killed 346 people and led to a global grounding of the aircraft.

Njoroge’s wife, Carolyne, and their children—Ryan, 6; Kellie, 4; and Rubi, just nine months old—were aboard the ill-fated flight, along with his mother-in-law. All perished when the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

This marks the second time in recent months that Boeing has reached a last-minute settlement to avoid trial. In April 2025, the company settled with the families of two other Ethiopian Airlines crash victims.

Boeing declined to comment on the latest agreement.

The twin tragedies triggered a 20-month grounding of the 737 Max and have cost Boeing more than $20 billion in settlements, fines, and production delays. Investigations revealed that a faulty flight control system known as MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) contributed to both crashes.

According to Njoroge’s attorney, Robert Clifford, a separate trial representing the families of six additional victims is scheduled to begin on November 3.

Boeing has settled more than 90% of the civil lawsuits stemming from the crashes. These settlements have included billions of dollars in compensation to victims’ families and payments associated with a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Earlier this month, Boeing and the DOJ requested court approval of a plea agreement that would allow the aerospace giant to avoid prosecution on a criminal fraud charge. The charge relates to Boeing’s alleged deception of U.S. regulators regarding the 737 Max’s flight control systems during certification.

Under the plea deal struck in 2024, Boeing would avoid being labeled a convicted felon and would not face supervision by an independent monitor—terms that have drawn strong criticism from victims’ families.

The 737 Max crashes remain one of the darkest chapters in aviation history, and the legal and regulatory fallout continues to unfold amid ongoing scrutiny of Boeing’s safety culture and corporate accountability.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, yahoo.com