Relative of Hamilton family killed in Boeing crash to testify before U.S Congress

A man who lost his wife, mother-in-law and three young children in the crash of a 737 Max in Ethiopia says Boeing should scrap the plane.

Paul Njoroge will be the first relative of any of the 346 passengers who died in the two crashes involving Boeing’s most popular aircraft to testify before Congress Wednesday.

Njoroge, 35, was born in Kenya and now lives in Toronto, where he works. In an interview with The Associated Press, Njoroge said he is haunted every time he gets on a plane by thoughts of what his family went through when their aircraft went down.

His wife Carolyn, 34; his children, Ryan, 7, Kelly, 4, and baby Rubi, nine months; and his mother-in-law, Ann Wangui Karanja had lived in Hamilton since 2014. They were headed to Nairobi on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10 when their plane crashed a few minutes after takeoff, killing all 157 passengers. Ethiopian authorities say the pilot sent out a distress call and was given clearance to return but moments later, it went off the radar.

Njoroge and other family members of those killed in Boeing Max crashes will demand before Congress that Regulators perform a new, full-scale review of the plane. They are also calling on Congress to reform the Federal Aviation Administration, which certified the plane and declined to ground it after the first accident last October off the coast of Indonesia.

Njoroge says CEO Dennis Muilenburd and other Boeing executives should resign and be held criminally responsible for the deaths of the hundreds who died in the crashes.

Njoroge says the plane should never fly again because of what he considers an irredeemable design flaw. Boeing developed new software because the size and placement of the aircraft’s engine increased the risk of an aerodynamic stall. The software reportedly pushed the nose of the plane down in both crashes, and Boeing is working on changes to make it more reliable and easier to control.

Many airlines have opted to ground the Boeing 737 Max plane. American Airlines and United Airlines both said they will keep the aircraft off their schedule until Nov. 3.