Kenyan family files lawsuit against Boeing over Ethiopian Airlines crash

As controversies trails the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 8 model, a Kenyan family has filed a lawsuit in Chicago against American aviation giant Boeing over a March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people, lawyers and family members said on Tuesday.

Siblings of 29-year-old engineer George Kabau said they wanted to force the company to release documents and emails relating to its 737 MAX 8 model, which was grounded worldwide after two major plane crashed in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

“Yesterday we filed a complaint on behalf of George Kabau’s parents in the United States Federal District Court in Illinois, and by doing that we will allow, this will allow us through the discovery process to look into Boeing’s decision making process. So our clients have retained us to find out what happened, why it happened and to prevent this from happening in the future,” said Family Lawyer, Nomi Husain.

Dozens of families have already sued Boeing over the crash, and three lawsuits have already been lodged over the Ethiopian Airlines crash, by the families of two Americans, including consumer activist Ralph Nader’s great niece, and a Rwandan.

“We cannot replace him, and he cannot and shall not be replaced. But we pray that by what is happening, my parents especially and us as his siblings and all other loved ones, can use his demise to ensure safe travel for all,” added Sister to late George kabau, Esther Kabau.

Boeing, which has previously declined to comment on individual lawsuits, and directed inquiries about the crash to investigating authorities, had no immediate comment on the latest case.

#Kenyan family files lawsuit against #Boeinghttps://t.co/OzTZimmCrN pic.twitter.com/UV9A1afbK6

— Yeni Şafak English (@yenisafakEN) April 17, 2019

Kenya had the largest number of citizens on the flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. At least 32 Kenyans were on board, the airline said at the time, although that number may be larger because some of the travellers were dual nationals and the full manifest has still not been released.