SEATTLE — Wednesday marks two years since software intended to improve safety on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 resulted in a crash that killed 157 people on board an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
It was the second deadly 737 MAX crash in about a five-month period. The 737 MAX was grounded shortly after.
On the anniversary of the Ethiopian Airlines crash, the law firm representing several families of the victims said the Stumo family will meet with U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg "to inform him of continuing dangers with the Boeing MAX 8."
The Stumo family's 24-year-old daughter Samya Rose Stumo was killed in the 2019 crash.
Before meeting with Buttigieg, the Stumo family held a protest outside Boeing's offices in Arlington, Virginia. Nadia Milleron, Samya's mother, and her son held a sign with images of the victims and another sign that read "346 Dead. No one held accountable.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said during the 20-month grounding of the 737 MAX there were changes that "reshaped the company."
In January, Boeing entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice in connection with criminal information filed in Texas. The Boeing Company will pay $2.5 billion to resolve a criminal charge related to conspiracy to defraud the FAA's Aircraft Evaluation Group as well as compensate MAX airline customers and establish a crash-victim beneficiaries fund.
Regulators in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Brazil and other countries cleared the plane to resume flying after Boeing changed an automated flight-control system that played a role in the crashes.
Boeing reported Tuesday it's seen more new orders than cancelations for the first time since 2019.
Despite the plane being back in the air, there are still active lawsuits filed by families of the crash victims. Crawford Law Offices said it's representing 72 families and hope to have a trial date soon before U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Alonso in Chicago.