Irish Man’s Family Awarded $29M Over Fatal Plane Crash

A U.S. court spokesperson reported that a Chicago jury has granted $29 million (€25 million) in compensation to the relatives of an Irish UN staff member who perished in a 2019 Boeing 737 MAX disaster. Naoise Connolly Ryan brought the civil suit against Boeing.

Chicago Jury Awards $29 Million in Final Civil Litigation Against Boeing

The civil suit, Connolly v. The Boeing Co. (Case No. 1:19-cv-03540), concluded after a trial before U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, according to court records and reporting by VisaVerge. The jury reached its verdict on Wednesday, August 12, 2026. Steven Marks, lead attorney for the family from the Florida-based firm Podhurst Orseck PA, stated via VisaVerge that his client was “committed to seeking accountability and justice from a jury and not accepting money from Boeing directly.” Andrew Hays of Staza Law also represented the family, while Dan Webb of Winston & Strawn led Boeing’s defense team.

The verdict accounts for the family’s financial loss and the terror Ryan experienced before the aircraft impacted the ground, according to VisaVerge. Following the pair of fatal MAX accidents in 2018 and 2019 that altogether resulted in 346 deaths, this lawsuit stands among the last remaining civil cases active against Boeing. While the vast majority of claims have been settled out of court with undisclosed terms, Connolly Ryan resisted that path. In 2021, she redirected an initial $1.65 million voluntary payment from Boeing to an aviation safety foundation, describing those funds as “blood money,” according to VisaVerge.

Comparing Recent 2026 Verdicts Over the Ethiopian Airlines Disaster

The $29 million payout follows a separate multi-million dollar verdict handed down earlier in the year by another Chicago jury. Based on court files and coverage by TheJournal.ie, a Chicago jury granted $49.5 million (€42.88 million) in May to the relatives of Samya Stumo, a 24-year-old American citizen who lost her life on that identical Ethiopian Airlines journey. Both trials centered on Flight 302, which crashed on March 10, 2019.

Boeing has apologised for the crashes and acknowledged that anti-stall software was implicated in both accidents, according to reports from TheJournal.ie. A company spokesperson previously expressed sympathy for the bereaved families and stated that the firm resolved nearly all claims through settlements, noting that individual claimants remain entitled to pursue litigation through the courts.

Humanitarian Career and Life of UN Employee Micheál ‘Mick’ Ryan

Micheál ‘Mick’ Ryan, 39, served as deputy chief engineer at the United Nations World Food Programme and lived in Cork after growing up in County Clare, according to coverage by TheJournal.ie. A UN memorial page and statements from colleagues detailed his extensive international service. Ryan worked during the Ebola crisis in Liberia, with Rohingya refugees, and in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Ethiopia.

Following his death, then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar noted that Ryan had been “doing life-changing work in Africa with the World Food Programme,” while then-President Michael D Higgins offered his deepest sympathies, as reported by TheJournal.ie. His mother, Christine Ryan, said her son was “an amazing person” who had a “marvellous vision” for the world. His friend Johnny Hegarty added that Ryan “saved countless lives, hundreds, maybe thousands and thousands of lives in his work,” telling reporters that doing good drove his life.

Flight 302 Accident Timeline and Maintenance Record

En route to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, the aircraft crashed close to Bishoftu, situated 50km southeast of Addis Ababa. Departing the aerodrome at 8.38am local time on 10 March 2019, the airplane severed communication with the control tower six minutes later at 8.44am. The 157 victims included people from 35 countries.

According to airline officials cited in reports, the pilot, who had an “excellent flying record,” reported difficulties and had been cleared to turn back. Having completed its maiden voyage at the close of October, the plane was merely several months old. Its last maintenance was on 4 February 2019 and it had flown just 1,200 hours.

Did You Know?

The 2018 and 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crashes together claimed 346 lives.

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