Boeing 737 MAX victim's family awarded $29 million

A Chicago jury awarded $29 million to the family of Michael “Mick” Ryan, an Irish-born United Nations employee who died in a 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crash, US court papers show.

The civil suit was brought against Boeing by Ryan's widow, Naoise Connolly Ryan. Ryan, 39, was an engineer with the UN World Food Programme and was one of 157 people killed when an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed in 2019.

A court entry in the US District Court in Chicago said the jury found total damages suffered by the plaintiff were $29 million.

Ryan had worked during the Ebola crisis in Liberia and with Rohingya refugees. A UN memorial page also recognized his work in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Ethiopia.

The case is one of the final remaining civil suits against Boeing after two deadly 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed a combined 346 people. Most claims have been settled out of court on undisclosed terms, but Ryan was among plaintiffs who refused to settle.

Steven Marks, managing partner at Podhurst Orseck, said the verdict represented “an important measure of accountability and justice” for Naoise Connolly Ryan.

Boeing has apologized for the crashes and acknowledged that defects with the aircraft's anti-stall software were implicated in both accidents. Boeing did not respond to requests for comment on the verdict.

In a July 28 US securities filing, Boeing said fewer than five lawsuits by families of MAX victims were pending.

In May, a Chicago jury awarded $49.5 million in damages to the family of Samya Stumo, a 24-year-old American killed on the same Ethiopian Airlines flight. Boeing is also appealing a March 2026 US ruling that partially granted class certification to investors who claimed they were misled by Boeing's reassurances after the first MAX crash.