Mom who lost daughter in Boeing crash says ‘more warning bells’ going off for aircraft maker
Nadia Milleron, who lost her daughter in a 2019 Boeing crash, joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to outline how she is channeling her grief into demanding accountability from the aircraft maker.
Since the door plug of an Alaska Airlines plane blew out mid-flight earlier this year, Boeing has faced mounting scrutiny for a number of other incidents, many of which have been deadly.
One mom, who lost her daughter in a 2019 Boeing crash, is demanding the aircraft manufacturer be held accountable for those killed in at least two separate crashes.
"The executives made these decisions, and they have to be personally accountable. They should be prosecuted, the executives personally, because that is what makes behavior change in Boeing. People have to face...their decisions," Nadia Milleron said on "Fox & Friends," Wednesday.
Milleron, along with family members of 346 individuals who were killed in Boeing crashes, will meet with Justice Department officials Wednesday as part of requirements in the Crime Victims' Rights Act.
In October 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed shortly after takeoff into the Java Sea near Indonesia, killing all 189 passengers and crew on board. Only months later, in March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed in March 2019, killing all 157 passengers and crew on board
The 737 Max was officially grounded in the U.S. on March 13, 2019, and the DOJ launched an investigation into Boeing on behalf of the families.
The Justice Department reached a deferred prosecution agreement with Boeing during the investigation.
Ike Riffel, the father of two sons who died in the 2019 Ethiopia crash, labeled the agreement "a big corporate probation." He added he was "very angry" about the agreement.
"It was a backroom deal made in Texas, which is something that we wondered why it went to the state of Texas. Boeing has no presence in the state of Texas. We were told as families that there was no criminal investigation into Boeing. And then, out of nowhere, we read in the newspapers about this deferred prosecution agreement."
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The deferred prosecution agreement said that if Boeing could abide by the terms for three years, there would be no charges against the company or executives.
"Boeing did not behave well," Milleron claimed. "The blowout in the Alaska Airlines happened…days before the agreement was to expire. And so we're bringing all this evidence, all the complaints by pilots of malfunctions in the new planes that they're flying. There are many, many other warning bells beside the blowout. So that was just the biggest one. But there's many other malfunctions, many more warning bells than before our crashes."
As the families prepare to meet with DOJ officials, Riffel shared his skepticism that anything will come from the talks.
"I think this is just a box checking exercise for the DOJ. We were found to be crime victims, that's why we're able to challenge this case. And, really, I think it's just a dog and pony show that the DOJ wants to show the judges that they have talked to us," he said.
While the talks are a step forward, both Riffel and Milleron agreed they are fighting for justice and trying to bring the truth to light about Boeing's role in the deadly crashes and other dangerous incidents.
"What we're really fighting for is justice," Riffel said. "This big prosecution agreement has hid the truth from us, and we will continue to fight until we get to truth. It's been a long battle, and I think it will probably continue to be a long battle, but we will continue to fight this battle until we can find justice."
Milleron is also expanding her efforts to hold companies like Boeing accountable by running for Congress as an Independent candidate in Massachusetts.
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"I want to protect regular people from these kind of abuses, because this is not the way that our system and our country is supposed to work. These manufacturers are supposed to produce great products, and they can produce great products, and that's what we need to do in our country. But we have to not just allow them to abuse the system that we have."
Fox News' Haley Chi-Sing, Taylor Penley and FOX Business' Lucas Manfredi contributed to this report.
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