$29 Million Verdict Against Boeing for 737 MAX Crash Victim

A Chicago jury has ordered Boeing to pay $29 million in damages to the family of Michael 'Mick' Ryan, an engineer who died in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash. The 737 MAX was involved in the disaster that killed all 157 people on board.

Ryan worked for the UN World Food Programme and had been deployed during crises in Liberia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Ethiopia. His widow, Naoise Connolly Ryan, brought the civil suit against Boeing, seeking accountability and justice through a jury verdict rather than a settlement with undisclosed terms.

The case is one of the final remaining civil suits pending against Boeing following the two deadly MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives. Boeing has apologized for the crashes and acknowledged that anti-stall software was implicated in both accidents.