On the cusp of a high-profile courtroom showdown, Boeing has reached confidential settlements with the families of two victims killed in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash — a move that spares the aerospace giant from facing what could have been a public reckoning in federal court.
The families of Antoine Lewis and Darcy Belanger were among those seeking justice for the 157 lives lost when Flight 302 fell from the sky just minutes after takeoff. The trial, scheduled in a U.S. District Court in Chicago, would have been the first against Boeing connected to the two fatal MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 — disasters that triggered a global grounding of the aircraft and cost the company north of $20 billion.
The details of the settlements remain sealed, but their timing is telling: mere hours before jury selection was set to begin. Boeing, for its part, once again offered public contrition, stating it had committed early on “to fully and fairly compensate the families” and “accepted legal responsibility” for the accidents.
Antoine Lewis, a 39-year-old U.S. Army captain, was traveling through Africa with plans to explore launching a logistics business. Darcy Belanger, 46, was en route to Nairobi for a United Nations Environmental Assembly, where he was scheduled to speak.
Monday’s settlements mark another chapter in a long legal saga. Boeing previously accepted liability for compensatory damages in 2021, avoiding the risk of punitive claims. Since then, the company says it has resolved over 90% of the claims related to both MAX crashes — settling lawsuits, paying compensation, and navigating the fallout through criminal and civil proceedings.
But Boeing’s legal turbulence isn’t over. Two more trials are on the horizon — one in July and another in November — and the company is still entangled in a federal criminal case related to its alleged deception of regulators about the MAX’s now-infamous MCAS safety system.
The U.S. Justice Department claims Boeing violated a 2021 agreement that had temporarily shielded it from prosecution. After determining the company breached that deal, prosecutors moved forward with new charges, prompting Boeing to agree in July to plead guilty to criminal fraud conspiracy and pay up to $487.2 million in fines — if a final deal can be reached before a June 23 trial.
For the families who lost loved ones, though, no settlement or plea deal seems to close the wound. Many have slammed the government’s handling of Boeing’s case, calling the proposed agreement a “sweetheart deal” that fails to deliver real accountability.
With more courtroom battles ahead and the DOJ watching closely, Boeing’s troubles are far from over — and the legacy of the 737 MAX crashes continues to cast a long shadow.
