Ethiopia Airlines Crash: First orphans to sue Boeing come from Africa

The first lawsuit against Boeing as responsible for the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash that killed 157 people, has been filed in U.S. federal court  .

The suit was filed Thursday in Chicago federal court by the family of Jackson Musoni, a 31-year-old citizen of Rwandaworking for UNHCR in East Darfur at the time of his death in the crash.

The suit filed by Musoni’s three minor children, who reside in Belgium as Dutch citizens, alleges that Boeing, which manufactures the 737 MAX, had defectively designed the automated flight control system.

The 737 MAX planes were grounded worldwide following the Ethiopian Airlines disaster, which came five months after a Lion Air crash in Indonesia that killed 189 people.

The crash of Boeing’s passenger jet in Ethiopia raised the chances that families of the victims, even non-U.S. residents, will be able to sue in U.S. courts, where payouts are much larger than in other countries, some legal experts have said.

The lawsuit says Boeing failed to warn the public, airlines and pilots of the airplane’s allegedly erroneous sensors, causing the aircraft to dive automatically and uncontrollably.

In a tribute after the crash, the UNHCR described Musoni as jovial, fun, down to earth, and always ready to go the extra mile to help those in a time of great need.

He joined UNHCR in 2014, in Butare, Rwanda.

The family he left behind include three children, aged eight, five and four.