Boeing agrees to compensate families in Ethiopia 737 Max crash

WASHINGTON • Boeing has reached an agreement with the families of victims of the 737 Max crash that killed 157 people in Ethiopia, and has admitted responsibility for the crash, according to legal documents filed in a Chicago court on Wednesday.

"Boeing is committed to ensuring that all families who lost loved ones in the accidents are fully and fairly compensated for their loss," the company said in a statement.

"By accepting responsibility, Boeing's agreement with the families allows the parties to focus their efforts on determining the appropriate compensation for each family," the aerospace giant said.

Flight 302 to Nairobi, operated by Ethiopian Airlines, crashed south-east of the capital Addis Ababa six minutes after taking off on March 10, 2019.

The accident resulted in the grounding of the 737 Max fleet and the worst crisis in the history of the American aircraft manufacturer - which followed a Lion Air 737 Max crash in Indonesia in October 2018 that killed 189 people.

The lead lawyers for the victims' families hailed the agreement as "historic" and a "significant milestone for the families in their pursuit of justice against Boeing".

"It will ensure they are all treated equitably and eligible to recover full damages," said lawyers Robert Clifford, Steven Marks and Justin Green in a statement.

The agreement proposed on Wednesday does not mention specific sums, but said that jurors will be responsible for assessing amounts of compensation based on the evidence presented.

The families will be able to take steps to obtain compensation in courts in the United States. The 157 people who died were of 35 different nationalities.

A hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday in Chicago to ratify this preliminary agreement.

There will then be compensation discussions. But if they fail, each family will be able to present their case to a jury to seek damages, according to the law of the state of Illinois, where Chicago is located.

In January, Boeing agreed to pay more than US$2.5 billion (S$3.39 billion) to settle certain lawsuits.

The aeronautical giant admitted that two of its employees had misled the Federal Aviation Administration, the aviation regulator in the US.

The 737 Max, a new version of the legendary medium-haul plane originally released in 1967, tarnished the reputation of the aircraft manufacturer and cost it billions of dollars.

The planes remained grounded for 20 months before being gradually allowed to fly around the world from the end of last year. Airlines have brought back into service more than 200 of the aircraft.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE