Boeing Ordered to Pay $49.5 Million to Family of 737 MAX Crash Victim
A federal jury in Chicago has ordered Boeing to pay $49.5 million in compensation to the family of Samya Stumo, a victim of the March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash. The verdict includes damages for pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and grief. The crash, caused by a software design flaw in the 737 MAX flight control system, killed all 157 people on board and contributed to a global grounding of the aircraft. While Boeing accepted liability, the plaintiff's attorneys plan to appeal the dismissal of punitive damage claims. This ruling follows a similar $28.45 million award to another victim's family in November. Boeing previously settled numerous civil lawsuits and paid $2.5 billion in 2021 to avoid prosecution for deceiving regulators. Although the Department of Justice found Boeing in breach of settlement terms in 2024, criminal fraud charges were dropped under the Trump administration, a decision upheld by appeals courts in 2026.
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