Lois Olufunke, mother of late Pius Adesanmi, and the deceased’s daughter, Iyabo Toluhi, have sued the Boeing company over the plane crash that killed the renowned writer.
Boeing is the manufacturer of the ill-fated 737 MAX 8 Ethiopian Airlines aircraft that crashed in March killing all passengers onboard.
The two Nigerians aboard the Nairobi-bound flight were Adesanmi, and Biodun Bashua, a former UN and African Union (AU) deputy joint special representative in Darfur, Sudan.
According to Premium Times, the suit dated June 4 was filed on behalf of the bereaved family at the US district court in Chicago where the company is based.
It was filed by Nomaan Husain of Husain Law + Associates, Floyd Wisner of The Wisner Law Firm and Omar Khawaja of The Law Offices of Omar Khawaja.
Boeing is being sued for not properly informing pilots on the dangers and risks around its new Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) software, which led to the crash of the plane.
As stated in the suit, the aircraft manufacturer knew MCAS software was defective but it ignored the flaws, thereby compromising the safety of passengers because of profit.
“This action arises from the horrific crash of ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES Flight 302 (“Flight 302”) on March 10, 2019 in which 157 people lost their lives. The aircraft involved in Flight 302 was a Boeing 737 MAX 8,” the suit read.
“This crash came less than five months after Lion Air Flight JT 610 – another Boeing 737 MAX 8 – crashed into the Java Sea on October 29, 2018, killing all 189 onboard.
“Investigation into both crashes is ongoing, but the similarities in the aircraft and the investigative findings for the crashes thus far points to a common cause. Shortly after taking off and while attempting to climb, pilots for both aircraft reported flight control issues as the planes pitched up and down erratically throughout the sky.
“Once again corporate greed has placed profits over safety with tragic consequences for the public,” said Mr Husain, founder and senior partner at Husain Law + Associates, PC.
“Our goal with these lawsuits is to obtain answers for our grieving clients and hold the Boeing Company accountable for creating this tragedy.”
