Boeing settles with Canadian father after Ethiopian 737 Max crash that killed his family

The agreement came just days before the first trial for the 2019 crash that led to a worldwide grounding of Max jets was scheduled to start

Reading Time:2 minutes

Rescuers at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crash near Bishoftu, south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on March 11, 2019. Photo: AP

Published: 8:38am, 12 Jul 2025

Boeing reached a settlement on Friday with a Canadian man whose wife and three children were killed in a deadly crash in Ethiopia in 2019, averting the first trial connected to the devastating event that led to a worldwide grounding of Max jets.

The jury trial at Chicago’s federal court had been set to start on Monday to determine damages for Paul Njoroge of Canada.

His family was heading to their native Kenya in March 2019 aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 when it malfunctioned and plummeted to the ground. The wreck killed all 157 people on board.

Njoroge, 41, had planned to testify about how the crash affected his life. He has been unable to return to his family home in Toronto because the memories are too painful. He has not been able to find a job, and has weathered criticism from relatives for not travelling alongside his wife and children.

Mourners of victims of the crashed accident of Ethiopian Airlines react during the mass funeral at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on March 17, 2019. Photo: AFP

“He’s got complicated grief and sorrow and his own emotional stress,” Njoroge’s lawyer Robert Clifford said. “He’s haunted by nightmares and the loss of his wife and children.”

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x