A US jury on Wednesday awarded $49.5 million in damages to the family of a 24-year-old American woman who died in the 2019 crash of a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, News.Az reports, citing AFP.

The lawsuit was filed by relatives of Samya Stumo, one of the 157 people killed in the Ethiopian Airlines disaster in March 2019.

After deliberating for about two hours, the Chicago jury determined that “the total amount of damages suffered by Plaintiff is $49.5 million,” according to court documents.

Most civil cases connected to the crash had previously been resolved through settlements outside court. However, Stumo’s family and Boeing failed to reach an agreement before the trial, which began on Monday.

“We are deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302,” Boeing said in a statement.

“While we have resolved nearly all of these claims through settlements, families are entitled to pursue their claims through the court process, and we respect their right to do so,” the company added.

Stumo had been traveling to Kenya for her first assignment with ThinkWell, a public health non-governmental organization focused on improving healthcare access across Africa and Asia.

The Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killing all passengers and crew on board. The disaster came roughly four and a half months after a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX crash in Indonesia.

Together, the two crashes claimed 346 lives.

Boeing previously acknowledged that anti-stall software played a role in both accidents.

Stumo’s family and their attorney, Shanin Specter, did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.

During proceedings in Chicago federal civil court, Specter argued that Boeing had acted negligently, describing the aircraft as “unsafe” and stating that “Boeing caused this crash and these deaths.”

The trial included testimony from several of Stumo’s relatives, including her father, Michael Stumo, who said the tragedy continues to affect the family deeply.

“It feels like since she's been gone, we don't have permission to be happy,” Michael Stumo testified. “Sometimes you catch yourself being happy, and you correct yourself, like you shouldn't be.”

Before the verdict was delivered, Boeing attorney Dan Webb expressed the company’s condolences over the crash.

He said Boeing’s “only disagreement” with the Stumo family concerned “the exact amount of compensation.”

In 2025, a US judge dismissed criminal charges against Boeing related to the deadly crashes under an agreement reached between the company and federal prosecutors.

In a separate case last November, a Chicago jury awarded $28.45 million to the widower of another MAX crash victim. A second trial in January ended after an out-of-court settlement was reached on the second day of proceedings.

The next trial connected to the crashes is set for August 3 and will focus on the death of Irish victim Michael Ryan.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev