Families Who Lost Loved Ones in Boeing ET302 Crash React to Latest Boeing Crash; Canadian Families Meet with Canada’s Director General of Transportation Agency
Families react to the crash of a Boeing 737 in Iran reportedly killing all 176 on board.
Robert A. Clifford, lead counsel in the March 10 crash of a Boeing 737 MAX jet in Ethiopia, relays the sentiments to this latest crash of many family members who lost loved ones 10 months ago: ”What a sad day. What sad news. When shall we wake up from this nightmare? We shudder thinking of what the families are going through. This is just terrible, and it takes us back to that dreadful March 10 morning when we got the alert about the crash of ET302. The news is heartbreaking after almost 10 months of feeling the loss of our families. Some of us don’t even know how to feel about this news… anger, sadness… No matter the reason for the crash, families have lost their loved ones. We would like to express our deepest condolences to the families and friends of all victims…may God be with them in this hard time.
All we can do is say prayers for the departed souls and their families. We send out thoughts of comfort into the universe to reach out to the families of these 176 victims. Now, more than ever, we strengthen our resolve and commitment tenfold to ensure aviation safety for travelers around the world.”
Paul Njoroge of Canada who lost his entire family in the crash of a Boeing jet on March 10 in Ethiopia added his thoughts: “The terrible news about the crash of Ukraine Airlines Flight PS752 brought a chill in my entire body. It took me back to the morning of March 10th, 2019, when I lost my entire family in the second crash of the Boeing 737 Max planes. I know and feel the pain of losing loved ones in such a tragic manner. My sincere condolences goes to the families who lost loved ones in the crash of PS752.
The crashes of the Boeing 737 Max planes, one that killed my family, were as a result of failure in corporate governance within Boeing and the lapses in oversight by the FAA. It is, therefore, of paramount importance that authorities investigating the crash of PS752 focus on the root cause of the crash. The 737-800, the predecessor to the 737-MAX that has been seen to be reliable over the years. However, any in-built technical issues cannot be tolerated. Could the crash be tied to the crippled culture within Boeing? That is a hypothesis that should be analyzed.”
It has been reported that 63 Canadians were aboard today’s Ukrainian flight that crashed in Iran. In the meantime, Canadian family members who lost loved ones in the tragic March 10 crash of a Boeing 737 Max8 met on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2019 with a leader of Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA), an administrative tribunal of the Canadian government that makes decisions and policies regarding federally regulated modes of civil transportation.
Canadian families met with TCCA Director General Nicholas Robinson in Toronto. Marc Garneau, TCCA Minister of Transport, announced the decision last March to ground the 737 Max8 in Canada shortly before the U.S. grounded the aircraft.
The new airplane remains grounded throughout the world as safety agencies across the globe examine the plane following two crashes within five months. Chris Moore, father of Danielle Moore, 24, of Toronto, attended the meeting arranged by TCCA. He is interested in the factors that are being examined to unground the plane. He also is interested in the relationship between the TCCA and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Moore also has been very active in attending meetings with governmental officials in the U.S. including the head of the Federal Aviation Administration and the head of the National Transportation Safety Board. He says he is interested in a public discussion of this issue in Canada given that 18 Canadians were killed in the second crash in Ethiopia March 10. “Overall, the meeting was helpful both in an emotional way and a technical one. It’s still frustrating to know that it took almost 10 months to have this meeting with Canadian families of the victims,” Moore said following the meeting. “Nicholas Robinson has accepted fault in this delay and will commit to consulting with Canadian families moving forward. However, there are several pieces of the puzzle that are missing or don’t fit. If the Director General of Civil Aviation for Canada has the authority to ground planes in Canada, why was it deferred to the Minister? “Because of Cabinet Confidence, we do not know what was discussed between the Director General and the Minister after the first and second crashes regarding grounding.
TCCA were confident with the initial validation of the Max 8, but admitted they didn’t have the entire information of the MCAS. After the first crash, they were confident that the MCAS was not a safety risk if pilots were to follow their 5-point procedure, together with training. They originally didn’t see the AoA sensor as an issue, but failed to say why they didn’t give FAA or Boeing hell for the miscategorization and why they didn’t ground the Max 8 in Canada after the first crash. TCCA staff did not talk about grounding the Max 8 specifically, but in general terms only. TCCA did not give satisfactory answers about why they waited three days to ground the B737 Max given all the information that was available; they still are proud of their decision to wait. Going forward, TCCA is conducting their own validation of the B737 Max independent of the FAA, but will work together with all CTM Agencies to ensure everyone is fully in line. The B737 Max will fly within Canadian Airspace If and only if, Canada is confident that it is safe to do so. TCCA will be approaching Certification and Validation differently now [didn’t elaborate but will be looking at the Product change rules].”
Also attending Wednesday’s meeting was Paul Njoroge, also of Toronto, who lost his Zaire, three small children and mother in law. Njoroge, president of the non-profit worldwide organization that the families of the crash have set up, lost his wife, three children and mother in law in the crash in Ethiopia. Njoroge would like the Canadian authorities to narrate to the people of Canada their decision-making process on allowing the Boeing 737 Max8 jet to continue to fly after the crash of Lion Air Flight JT610 that crashed Oct. 29, 2018 after taking off from Indonesia. Five months later, on March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Flight ET302 crashed shortly after takeoff en route to Kenya. Njoroge also wants any correspondence to be made public during the period between the two crashes that was exchanged among the FAA, the TCA and the Ministry of Transportation in Canada.
“After our meeting with the Director General of Transport Canada, Nicholas Robinson, I feel that Canada is taking a good direction towards ensuring that the 737 MAX is safe before any ungrounding decision is made, “Njoroge said following Wednesday’s meeting. “Mr. Robinson took us through the decision-making process pre-Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 crash and after the crash. He explained that Canada required pilots to undergo a five-step memorization training after the FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive on Nov. 6 — eight days after the first 737 MAX crash of Lion Air Flight 610. Mr. Robinson explained that Canada has set some requirements and parameters to be met before a decision is made to unground the 737 MAX planes. The TCAA will look at the result of the software audits and ensure that they are satisfied they are working properly. Flight testing with all possible scenarios tested and flight crew reaction times also will be assessed.”
“These families will continue their personal fight to find out why their loved ones were unnecessarily killed in an avoidable crash,” said Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner of Clifford Law Offices and lead counsel of the litigation against Boeing in federal district court in Chicago. “The consolidated lawsuits will help them find their answers, but they deserve to be a part of the investigatory process about this defective plane and in pushing for legislative changes to make it safer for the flying public.”
Moore says that he intends to continue to take this matter to members of Parliament to ensure that they are aware of the issues surrounding the 737 Max8 and that the government be held responsible for its role in validating the airworthiness of the aircraft.
He also has sent correspondence to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau but says he has not yet heard back.
For further information, contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909. www.CliffordLaw.com