Faith Nyasuguta
Government officials in Washington convened with approximately twelve family members of individuals who perished in the Ethiopian Boeing 737 Max crash of 2019.
Seeking to rekindle a criminal charge against Boeing, the families expressed their desire for justice. Despite Boeing’s 2021 settlement, which shielded the company from prosecution for defrauding regulators who approved the Max, the families of the Ethiopia crash victims persist in urging the Justice Department to pursue charges against the corporation in federal district court in Texas, where the settlement was lodged.
During the meeting on Wednesday, Department of Justice representatives informed the relatives that they are still deliberating on the matter. Following the session, family members convened a press conference to articulate their dismay with the Department’s stance.
Zipporah Kuria, who lost her father Joseph Kuria in the crash, lamented, “Today’s meeting with the DOJ has left me quite disheartened. It’s not about justice anymore, It’s not about the miscarriage of justice for us anymore. It’s about public safety.”
Meanwhile, attorney Paul Cassell pledged to persist in their fight should the Justice Department opt to dismiss charges against Boeing. Cassell criticized the Department for affording Boeing preferential treatment and vowed to challenge any attempts to absolve the corporation of accountability.
The meeting was described as emotional by Nadia Milleron, whose daughter Samya Stumo perished in the crash. Milleron recounted the intense atmosphere, with attendees expressing anger and frustration, believing that the Justice Department is disregarding compelling evidence against Boeing.
She noted that Glenn Leon, the head of the fraud section of the Justice Department’s criminal division, did not provide definitive assurances during the meeting, leaving the possibility open for further review or trial against Boeing.
For Boeing, the incident further shifts the narrative from financial recovery to safety concerns following an alarming occurrence in January when a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight, resulting in a significant breach in the aircraft.
This incident halted Boeing’s apparent progress in overcoming the aftermath of the two fatal crashes involving Max jets in 2018 and 2019, which claimed the lives of 346 individuals in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
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