Chicago, November 14 - In a landmark ruling that underscores the enduring quest for accountability in aviation disasters, a Chicago federal jury has ordered Boeing to pay more than $28 million to the family of Shikha Garg, a 32-year-old United Nations environmental consultant killed in the tragic 2019 Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302, 737 MAX 8 crash. The verdict, delivered on November 12, 2025, represents the first jury decision in dozens of wrongful death lawsuits stemming from the two fatal 737 MAX incidents that claimed 346 lives, shattering global trust in one of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers. Garg, aboard Flight 302 en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, perished mere minutes after takeoff when the jet plunged into a field, a catastrophe investigators later pinned on a flawed Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that Boeing concealed from pilots and regulators.
The lawsuit, filed by Garg's grieving family, including her husband Soumya Bhattacharya, accused Boeing of defective design in the 737 MAX and a deliberate failure to disclose known safety risks, prioritizing profits over passenger lives in a high-stakes race against Airbus. Attorneys Shanin Specter and Elizabeth Crawford argued passionately that the aircraft's automated flight controls catastrophically overrode human input, leading to an uncontrollable nosedive, while Boeing's internal documents revealed executives downplayed the system's dangers to avoid costly retraining. The jury, after days of emotional testimony detailing Garg's vibrant career advocating for sustainable development and the profound void left in her family, rejected Boeing's claims that the victims experienced no conscious suffering in the high-speed impact. This decision not only validates the plaintiffs' harrowing accounts but also exposes persistent lapses in Boeing's safety culture, echoing congressional probes that have dogged the company since the 2018 Lion Air crash, five months prior.
Under a swift post-verdict agreement, Boeing committed to forgoing appeals, boosting the payout to $35.85 million with 26% interest—a gesture of finality amid the company's broader strategy to resolve claims quietly. Just days earlier, on November 5, Boeing settled three other Ethiopian crash lawsuits confidentially, part of over 90% of cases it has negotiated out of court, totaling billions in undisclosed compensation alongside a $2.5 billion deferred prosecution deal with the U.S. Department of Justice. A Boeing spokesperson expressed profound sorrow, affirming the firm's respect for families' rights to seek justice while highlighting ongoing reforms to restore confidence in the 737 MAX fleet, now flying safely after a 20-month global grounding.
This verdict arrives as Boeing grapples with renewed scrutiny, including recent Senate hearings on mid-air incidents and whistleblower allegations of rushed production. For 737 MAX crash victims' families, it signals a hard-won step toward closure, reinforcing that corporate negligence carries a steep human and financial toll. As aviation safety advocates watch closely, the ruling could benchmark future claims, urging Boeing to embed transparency at its core to prevent history from repeating in the skies.
