Ethiopian Airlines crash: Irish man’s family awarded $29m by US jury

One of the final Ethiopian Airlines cases against Boeing

The civil suit against Boeing was brought by his widow, Naoise Connolly Ryan.

Originally from Lahinch in Co Clare, Ryan lived in Cork before relocating to Rome, where he served as deputy chief engineer with the UN's World Food Programme, according to Extra.ie.

He was 39 at the time of the crash, and had worked through the Ebola crisis in Liberia and with Rohingya refugees.

A UN memorial page also recognises his work in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Ethiopia.

Ahead of the verdict, the family's attorney Steven Marks had described his client as “committed to seeking accountability and justice from a jury”.

The case is one of the last remaining civil suits against Boeing arising from the two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, which claimed 346 lives altogether.

The vast majority of claims have been settled out of court on undisclosed terms.

Aviation safety has been in sharp focus in Ireland this summer too, after a serious incident at Dublin Airport involving an Aer Lingus flight.