Relatives of Boeing 737 MAX crash victims from around the world to testify in Fort Worth courtroom
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – At the federal courthouse in Fort Worth Thursday, the Boeing company pleaded not guilty in a criminal case stemming from the two deadly crashes involving its 737 MAX jets.
The hearing attracted victims' families from across the world.
For the first time, the relatives were allowed to testify in court after U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor recently overruled the U.S. Justice Department and recognized the families as crime victims.
While cameras are not allowed inside federal courtrooms, the relatives spoke with reporters outside the courthouse following the hearing.
Clariss Moore of Canada lost her 24-year-old daughter Danielle who was among those killed March 10, 2019 when an Ethiopian Air Boeing 737 MAX jet crashed after takeoff. "I not only lost my daughter, I lost my past, my today, my future, my tomorrow."
Nadia Milleron of Massachusetts held the poster containing the photos of 89 of the 157 people aboard that same Ethiopian Air jet.
Milleron and her husband Michael Stumo lost their 24-year-old daughter Samya Rose Stumo.
Five months earlier, in October 2018, a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX jet crashed after takeoff in Indonesia.
In all, 346 people died.
Milleron said, "These are innocent people that died and it's important to remember the individuals because it could be you or your family."
Zipporah Kuria flew from London to tell the judge about her father, Joseph Kuria Waithaka, 55, who was also aboard the Ethiopian Air jet. "It's difficult to try and take a step forward because you're always brought back to the 10th of March. Life has been a rollercoaster of nightmares of anxiety of night terrors. Some of the things we have seen have been horrific."
At the beginning of the hearing, Boeing's Chief Safety Officer, Michael Delaney, pleaded not guilty on behalf of the company to the charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
As he left the courthouse, Delaney was asked if he had any comment. "It was a very emotional day."
Two years ago this month, the Justice Department and Boeing entered into a deferred prosecution agreement.
Under the agreement, Boeing would not be indicted in connection with two employees accused of misleading the FAA on how the MAX jet's new flight controls worked.
Records show the company agreed to pay $243.6 million in a criminal monetary penalty, more than $1.7 billion in compensation to the airlines that bought the MAX jets, and an additional $500 million in compensation to the crash victims' heirs and relatives.
In a statement after the hearing, Boeing said, "We will never forget the lives lost in these accidents and their memory drives us every day to uphold our responsibility to all who depend on the safety of our products."
Paul Njoroge, originally from Kenya who now lives in Canada, lost his family on the 737 MAX jet: His wife, 33-year-old Carolyne Nduta Karanja, his 6-year-old son Ryan Njuguna Njoroge, 4-year-old daughter Kelli Pauls, Rubi Pauls, just 9-months-old, and his mother-in-law Ann Karanja. "I'm the voice of my wife and children, the only voice left of my wife and children."
Njoroge and other relatives want the company and top executives to face manslaughter charges. "The question that always lingers in my mind is why does the Department of Justice try to protect Boeing?"
The families asked the judge to place an independent monitor in this case to ensure Boeing is committed to safety.
The company and the Justice Department opposed that telling the judge it's not necessary because of their agreement.
The judge didn't rule on the request during the hearing.