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Man who lost family in Ethiopia crash makes emotional plea to Congress

Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON D.C. (NEXSTAR) – For the first time Wednesday, members of congress heard directly from those victims’ loved ones as the pressure continues to build on Congress to hold the FAA and Boeing accountable for answers in the deadly accidents.

“The Boeing 737 max crashes killed my wife, my three children, my mom in law, and 341 others,” Njoroge said.

Sitting in front of a House Aviation Committee Paul Njoroge just wanted lawmakers to know his story.

“I wanted them to relate to our pain, I wanted them to know that it is a global tragedy,” Njoroge said.

He lost his entire family in the Ethiopian air crash last March one of two crashes leading to the worldwide grounding of the 737 Max 8 planes.

“It made it personal…it was important for us to hear that.” (R-FL) Rep. Ross Spano said.

Congressman Ross Spano says he doesn’t think congress has gotten the full story about what caused the crash.

“We still haven’t heard from the experts as it relates to the engineers…the folks who actually built the airlines, built the computer systems,” Spano said.

It’s widely believed faulty sensors from an anti-stall system were responsible. On Wednesday Boeing announced 50-million dollars would go to the victims’ families.

“To me, it’s a publicity stunt, and I want everyone to know that nobody has received any money,” Njoroge said.

He doesn’t want the planes to fly again—but will leave that decision to the experts.

“I do believe that the authorities will do a good job to make sure that when they go back up they are safe, but who wants to fly on those planes?” Njoroge said.

A question travelers, not congress, may ultimately decide on their own.