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By Anezka Pichrtova
Live News Reporter
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As they embark on a long-planned vacation in Alaska, Ike and Susan Riffel take moments to put up stickers encouraging people to "Live Riffully." This is their way of honoring the memories of their sons, Melvin and Bennett, who tragically died in 2019 when a Boeing 737 Max jetliner crashed in Ethiopia.
The Riffels, along with other families who lost loved ones in the Ethiopian crash and a similar incident in Indonesia just over four months earlier, are awaiting news from the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ). After all these years, they hope to see Boeing prosecuted in connection with the two disasters that claimed 346 lives.
Ike Riffel fears that instead of putting Boeing on trial, the government might offer the company another chance at corporate probation through a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) or allow Boeing to plead guilty and avoid a trial.
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Ike, a retired forestry consultant, and Susan, a retired religious educator, reside in Redding, California, where they raised their sons. Mel was 29 and about to become a father when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed six minutes after takeoff. Bennett, 26, loved the performing arts and worked in IT support. Both were described as adventurous and independent, with a love for travel.
In early 2019, Mel met his brother in Taiwan to start their world tour. They were on their way to South Africa, when they boarded the Ethiopian Airlines flight in Addis Ababa. Back in California, Susan answered the phone on that Sunday morning and learned their sons were dead. "When you first hear it, you don't believe it," Ike told The Associated Press.
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In January 2021, the Justice Department charged Boeing with fraud for misleading regulators who approved the Max, but prosecutors approved an agreement that could drop the felony charge in three years. "I heard it on the news. It just kind of blew me away. I thought, what the hell?" Riffel recalls.
The Riffels believe they were deceived by the Justice Department, which had previously denied a criminal investigation. "I have no trust in Boeing to do the right thing, and I really lost my confidence in the Department of Justice," he told The Associated Press. "Their motto is to protect the American people, not to protect Boeing, and it seems to me they have spent the whole time defending Boeing."
Last month, the Justice Department reopened the possibility of prosecuting Boeing, claiming the company breached the 2021 agreement. The DOJ has to decide by July 7 whether to file charges against Boeing. Newsweek requested a comment from Boeing regarding the possible criminal charges.
The pending decision in Washington is crucial to family members worldwide. The 157 passengers and crew members who died in the Ethiopian crash came from 35 countries, with the largest numbers from Kenya and Canada. The crash came months after a similar incident with a Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by Indonesia's Lion Air, killing all 189 on board. In both cases, faulty software known as MCAS caused the planes to pitch down repeatedly.
Relatives of victims have sued Boeing, with most cases settled confidentially. Many want high-ranking Boeing officials prosecuted and have asked the Justice Department to fine Boeing over $24 billion for what they call "the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history."
Among this group are Javier de Luis, who lost his sister, Graziella, Michael Stumo and Nadia Milleron, who lost their daughter, Samya, and Canadians Paul Njoroge and Chris and Clariss Moore.
Initially connecting through emails, these families have grown determined to make a difference beyond their grief. "We want to find some meaning in what happened to our loved ones," Ike Riffel says. "If we can make aviation safer so this doesn't happen again, then we have had some victories out of this."
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