An Ontario resident has settled with Boeing nearly seven years after losing six family members in an airplane tragedy. The settlement occurred shortly after a wrongful death trial commenced in Chicago regarding the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft in 2019.
The fatal incident took place when the flight bound for Kenya crashed right after departing from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, leading to the tragic demise of all 157 individuals onboard, including 18 Canadians. Among the casualties were Manant Vaidya’s father, Pannagesh Vaidya, aged 73, mother Hansini Vaidya, aged 67, sister Kosha Vaidya, aged 37, brother-in-law Prerit Dixit, aged 45, and his two nieces, Ashka Dixit, aged 14, and Anushka Dixit, aged 13, who were both attending schools in Peel region at the time.
According to Vaidya’s legal representatives at Clifford Law Offices, the family, residing in Canada, was on a trip to acquaint the teenage girls with their mother’s birthplace and visit their grandparents’ acquaintances. Robert Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law, expressed that Boeing has acknowledged full responsibility for the tragic loss of these innocent lives and has now been held accountable to the grieving family, particularly to Manant Vaidya, who lost his mother, father, and sister.
The settlement terms have not been publicly disclosed. A spokesperson from Boeing conveyed deep regret to all those who lost their loved ones in Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Boeing acknowledged legal liability for the incident and committed to compensating families fully and fairly. The company mentioned that while most claims have been resolved through settlements, families have the right to pursue their claims through court trials, which Boeing respects.
Manant Vaidya and his family chose not to comment on the recent development. Vaidya had previously expressed disbelief over the loss of his dear ones and had traveled to Ethiopia in 2019 to repatriate their remains for final rites in India with his extended family. Notably, another Canadian, Paul Njoroge, who lost his wife and three children in the same tragedy, also reached a settlement with Boeing last year.
In a separate development, Boeing, based in Chicago, admitted responsibility for the Ethiopian crash in 2021, enabling the victims’ families to seek individual claims in U.S. courts. Investigations revealed that a faulty sensor triggered a system that nosedived the aircraft, leading to pilot incapacitation. Following the incident, Max jets were globally grounded until Boeing revamped the system.
Recently, Boeing struck a deal with the U.S. Justice Department to evade criminal charges related to the crashes.