US law firm, Ribbeck Law Chartered, has announced its intention to investigate the recent crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216 in Muan, South Korea.
This is even as it pushes for more compensation for families of the March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines -Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft crash victims, that killed all 149 on board including 32 Kenyans.
The aircraft that was headed for Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport in Ethiopia, went down near the town of Bishoftu, six minutes after takeoff.
The decision by Ribbeck Law Chartered on Jeju Air comes even as criminal cases against Boeing continue for the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
The Jeju Air crash occurred on December 29, 2024, claiming the lives of 179 passengers and crew.
During an interview from Chicago, about the investigation, Ribbeck Law attorney Holly Christianson, lead counsel for Ribbeck Law in this matter, stated: “Planes do not crash due to a single cause. These tragedies typically result from a combination of factors, such as weather, pilot error and mechanical failure.”
Christianson said investigators must examine all possible causes and avoid focusing exclusively on a bird strike or issues related to the runway design.
The Ribbeck Law Attorney emphasised the importance of scrutinising the aircraft itself, noting Boeing is part of an ongoing criminal investigation in the United States hence potential mechanical issues with the aircraft cannot be ruled out. Lion Air Flight 610, initial blame was placed on the pilots.
“It wasn’t until our firm initiated legal action in the US that it was revealed Boeing had failed to warn and properly train pilots about changes to the MCAS system,” she said.
The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) is a flight stabilising feature developed by Boeing that has been blamed in recent crashes.
Christianson pointed out a conflict of interest, highlighting that Boeing is one of the parties involved in the investigation of Jeju Air Flight 2216.
Recent video evidence suggests that the Jeju Air Boeing 737- 800 crash at Muan International Airport may have involved mechanical failure, ruling out a bird strike as an unlikely cause.
The aircraft carried 175 passengers and six crew members, with all but two lives tragically lost in the crash.
Christianson stressed the importance of the digital flight data recorder (DFDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) in determining the cause of the crash.
She explained that under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, a preliminary report is typically released within 30 days of a crash.
This report provides initial findings, including data from the DFDR and CVR, as well as basic facts about the flight and the circumstances of the crash.
However, preliminary reports do not determine causes or assign blame. “The official investigation report will not assign blame, but it is our responsibility to file lawsuits against the liable parties,” Christianson said.
She emphasised that several critical questions remain unanswered and suggested that the bird strike is unlikely to have been the sole cause of the catastrophic failure.
Ribbeck Law Chartered has filed petitions on behalf of more than 65 clients from the two previous 737 Max 8 air disasters as part of this case.
Lawyers representing families of Kenyans killed in the Ethiopian Airlines crash want a bigger compensation, disputing a recent agreement between the US Department of Justice and Boeing.
On July 24, 2024, the American plane maker agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and to pay fines ranging between $243.6 million (Sh31.5 billion) and $487 million (Sh62.9 billion).
The fines are a fraction of $24.8 billion (Sh3.2 trillion) in compensation that families of the past crash victims had initially requested.
Ribbeck, in a plea to a US District
Court, seen by the Star, has disputed
the agreement, arguing the compensation amount as “too little.”
Instead, it is pushing for a higher
compensation of between $47 billion
(Sh6.1 trillion) to $58 billion (Sh7.5
trillion).
