A Chicago jury has awarded $29 million in damages to the family of an Irish-born United Nations employee who died in the March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX crash that killed all 157 people on board.
The civil case was brought against Boeing by Naoise Connolly Ryan, widow of Michael Ryan, a 39-year-old engineer with the UN World Food Programme. Ryan had worked during the Ebola crisis in Liberia and supported Rohingya refugees, while also undertaking assignments in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Ethiopia.
The verdict is among the final civil cases against Boeing arising from the two deadly 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, which together killed 346 people. Most claims have been settled out of court, but Ryan was among the plaintiffs who chose to pursue the case before a jury.
Boeing has apologized to the families and acknowledged that defects involving the aircraft’s anti-stall software contributed to both crashes. The company said in a July 28, 2026 securities filing that fewer than five lawsuits by families of MAX victims remained pending.
The verdict comes after a March 2026 US ruling that partially granted class certification to investors who alleged they had been misled by Boeing’s assurances following the first MAX crash. Boeing is appealing that decision.
In May 2026, a Chicago jury also awarded $49.5 million to the family of Samya Stumo, a 24-year-old American killed in the same Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash. The Ryan family’s lawyers described the latest verdict as an important measure of accountability and justice, while acknowledging that no financial award could replace the life lost.