Family Member of Boeing Crash Victim to Testify at Senate Hearing Along with FAA Administrator Dickson – Virtual Press Conference to be Held 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 17

Posted on June 17, 2020 To

Family Member of Boeing Crash Victim to Testify at Senate Hearing on June 17, 2020, Along with FAA Administrator Dickson – Virtual Press Conference to be Held 1 p.m. Wednesday June 17th; Families’ Pressure for Bipartisan Aviation Safety Bill Results in Revised Senate Bill

Michael Stumo who lost his daughter in the crash of a Boeing 737 Max in Ethiopia was told late Tuesday that he will be allowed to testify on aviation safety at a hearing on June 17, 2020, of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in Washington, D.C.

Stumo, father of Samya Rose Stumo, of Massachusetts, was invited to testify following testimony of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) head Stephen Dickson. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. EST and can be viewed on the Senate Committee’s website.

Stumo submitted written testimony that can be found below. He and his wife, Nadia Milleron, will be available to speak to the press prior to the hearing at 9 a.m. EST at the main entrance (north side) of the Dirksen Federal Building on the ground floor. There also will be a Zoom virtual press conference following the hearing where family members will be available to speak to the press regarding the hearing and a new aviation bill sponsored by U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chair of the Committee holding June 17th’s hearing.

Sen. Wicker introduced The Aviation Safety Bill last week that since has been revised, and Wicker’s office yesterday released the The Aircraft Safety and Certification Reform Act of 2020. The bipartisan legislation would implement provisions to improve aviation safety based on input from family members who lost loved ones in the crash of a Boeing 737 MAX jet in Ethiopia and addresses human factors to more accurately assess pilot responses to cockpit alerts, one of the issues involving this crash. View a copy of the revised bill.

Families who lost loved ones in the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 have been advocating for reform to make planes safer since the March 10, 2019 crash that killed all 157 people on board. The crash came less than five months after another Boeing 737 MAX jet crashed after takeoff from Indonesia killing all 189 people on board. The MAX 737 has been grounded worldwide since March 2019, but the plane manufacturer continues to work to revise the plane to re-certify it to be airworthy.

Stumo, Milleron and other family members who lost loved ones in that tragic crash in Ethiopia have met with numerous elected and appointed government officials over the past year including U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao. In addition to Stumo’s written testimony below, some 10 families who lost loved ones sent statements to the Senate Committee Among them are Chris Moore of Toronto, Canada, who lost his 24-year-old daughter Danielle, Javier de Luis of Massachusetts who lost his sister, Zipporah Kuria of the United Kingdom who lost her father, and Paul Ngoroge who lost his entire family – his wife, three small children and his mother in law, (attachments to this press release).

Stumo, Moore, de Luis, Kuria and Ngorge along with 63 other families who lost loved ones on that aircraft, are represented by Clifford Law Offices in Chicago. Several of these family members will be available to speak at June 17th’s 1 p.m. virtual press conference. Founder and senior partner Robert A. Clifford has been appointed Lead Counsel in the consolidated litigation in federal district court in Chicago.

For further information and to get access to the live press conference, please contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell).