First US Lawsuit Against Boeing Filed by Ethiopian Airlines Victim's Children

On Thursday, the family of Jackson Musoni, a citizen of Rwanda, filed a U.S. lawsuit against Boeing Co., in what appears to be the first suit of its kind over the Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 crash that killed 157 people, including Musoni.

The lawsuit claims that Boeing defectively designed the automated flight control system of the 737 MAX and failed to warn the public, airlines and pilots of the allegedly malfunctioning sensors which caused the aircraft to dive and crash.

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“Boeing ... is working with the authorities to evaluate new information as it becomes available,” said a Boeing spokesperson, though would not comment further.

The lawsuit was filed by Musoni’s three minor children who are Dutch citizens residing in Belgium.

Since the Boeing 737 MAX 8 involved in the crash was a U.S.-made passenger jet, the families of the victims, even non-U.S. residents, are able to sue Boeing in U.S. courts and may receive a much larger payout than in other countries.

Boeing has since updated the software of the 737 MAX to prevent future catastrophes like the Ethiopian Airlines and the Lion Air crashes from happening again. The update will soon be reviewed by the FAA.