A Chicago jury awarded 29 million dollars in damages to the family of Michael Ryan, an Irish United Nations engineer killed in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX crash. The civil suit pursued accountability through a jury trial rather than a direct financial settlement from Boeing.
A Chicago Jury Verdict and the Legal Fallout for Boeing
A jury in Chicago has ordered Boeing to pay 29 million dollars in damages to the family of an Irish United Nations employee who died in the 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crash, a US court spokesperson confirmed. The civil lawsuit was initiated by Naoise Connolly Ryan, the widow of Michael “Mick” Ryan, who served as deputy chief engineer at the UN World Food Programme.
The disaster occurred on March 10, 2019, when a defective Boeing 737 Max crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board. It marked the second 737 Max disaster in six months, following a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October 2018 that claimed 189 lives. Together, the two accidents resulted in 346 fatalities.
Weighing Accountability Against Out-of-Court Settlements
While the vast majority of civil claims filed against the aerospace manufacturer have been resolved out of court with undisclosed financial terms, Naoise Ryan pursued a different path. Steven Marks, attorney for the Ryan family, explained that his client remained steadfast in her objective.
“committed to seeking accountability and justice from a jury and not accepting money from Boeing directly.”
Steven Marks, Attorney for Naoise Connolly Ryan, via Thejournal
Boeing subsequently acknowledged responsibility for Ethiopian Airlines flight 302, admitting that its automated anti-stall software was implicated in the disasters and that the 737 MAX was in an unsafe condition
to fly. Representatives for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the jury’s decision.
The courtroom outcome follows a similar verdict reached earlier in the year. In May, a Chicago jury awarded 49.5 million dollars in damages to the family of Samya Stumo, a 24-year-old American who died on the same flight.
Reflecting on a Humanitarian Career Cut Short
Michael Ryan was 39 years old at the time of his death. Originally from County Clare and having lived in Cork, he had relocated to the World Food Programme’s headquarters in Rome.
His professional assignments included responding to the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, assisting Rohingya refugees, and contributing to operations in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Ethiopia.
Following his death, then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar noted that Ryan had been “doing life-changing work in Africa with the World Food Programme”, while then-President Michael D Higgins offered condolences. His mother, Christine Ryan, described her son as an amazing person
possessing a marvellous vision
for the world. Johnny Hegarty, a close friend, recalled his impact: Mick was doing good around the world which was great. That’s what drove him really, I think in his life – to do good.
Unresolved Litigation and Fleet Recertification
The case adjudicated in Chicago represents one of the final remaining civil suits pending against the manufacturer. Boeing’s 737-Max were recertified to start flying again in 2021.
