Chicago jury orders Boeing to pay $29 million to family of UN engineer killed in 2019 Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash
A federal jury in Chicago ordered Boeing to pay $29 million to the family of Michael 'Mick' Ryan, an Irish UN engineer killed in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 crash, after his widow rejected an earlier settlement as 'blood money.'
The verdict
A federal jury in Chicago ordered Boeing to pay $29 million in damages to the family of Michael "Mick" Ryan, an Irish UN engineer who was among the 157 people killed when Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 crashed on 10 March 2019. The 737 MAX 8 aircraft went down six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, while en route to Nairobi, Kenya. The civil trial opened on 3 August before a federal court in Chicago, and the verdict was announced on 12 August by a court spokesperson.
Ryan worked for the World Food Programme (WFP) and was a father of two. He was one of 21 UN employees killed that day, all of whom had been travelling to attend the UN Environment Assembly. Ryan had previously worked during the Ebola epidemic in Liberia and with Rohingya refugees.
The widow's refusal
Ryan's widow, Naoise Nee Connolly, had previously rejected Boeing's settlement offer, calling the proposed compensation "denaro insanguinato" (blood money). She directed her $1.65 million share of the award to an aviation safety foundation. The case went to trial after the family refused Boeing's conciliation offer, making it one of the few civil complaints against the manufacturer to reach a jury rather than ending in a confidential settlement.
The vast majority of the dozens of civil complaints arising from the two 737 MAX crashes were resolved through confidential out-of-court agreements. Boeing's lawyer, Dan Webb, had told the court during the earlier Stumo proceedings that he agreed with the plaintiffs' lawyer that the family deserved significant financial compensation for the pain inflicted, with the only disagreement being the exact amount.
- First civil trial concludes; jury awards $28.45 million to widow of a victim. All criminal charges against Boeing dropped.
- Last civil complaint related to the Lion Air crash settled.
- Chicago court orders Boeing to pay $49.5 million to the family of Samya Stumo.
- Ryan family civil trial opens before a federal court in Chicago.
- Jury orders Boeing to pay $29 million to the family of Michael Ryan.
Previous verdicts and remaining cases
The Ryan verdict is the third civil trial outcome linked to the 737 MAX crashes. In November 2025, the first civil trial against Boeing concluded with a jury awarding $28.45 million to the widow of a victim. In May 2026, the same Chicago court ordered Boeing to pay $49.5 million to the family of Samya Stumo, a 24-year-old American who was travelling to Kenya for her first assignment with an NGO when she was killed on Flight ET302.
- Nov 2025 (first trial)
- 28.45 $M
- May 2026 (Stumo family)
- 49.5 $M
- Aug 2026 (Ryan family)
- 29 $M
After the Ryan verdict, only two civil complaints remain open related to the Ethiopian Airlines crash. The last complaint tied to the Lion Air crash, which killed 189 people on 29 October 2018 shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, Indonesia, was settled at the end of February 2026. All criminal prosecutions against Boeing for both accidents were dropped in November 2025.
The MCAS connection
Boeing admitted as early as 2019 that the MCAS anti-stall software contributed to both the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air accidents. The two crashes, occurring within less than six months of each other, prompted dozens of civil lawsuits and led to the worldwide grounding of the 737 MAX fleet. The aircraft involved in the Ethiopian Airlines crash had been delivered only months before the accident.
