Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, operating a Boeing 737 MAX, took off from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport on its way to Nairobi, Kenya, on March 10, 2019. Just six minutes into its flight, the aircraft lost contact with air traffic control and crashed near the town of Bishoftu, approximately 40 miles from the capital. All 157 people onboard, comprising passengers and crew members from 35 different nationalities, perished in the accident. Reports indicated that the flight had experienced difficulties shortly after takeoff, raising alarms reminiscent of the Lion Air Flight 610 disaster that occurred just a few months earlier in October 2018, which also involved a Boeing 737 MAX. After the two fatal accidents, regulators and airlines around the globe scrambled to evaluate the safety of the aircraft model. This led to global scrutiny and investigations into the aircraft's design and the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that was implicated in the crashes.

The aftermath of the crash saw regulatory bodies, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and others, grounding all Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. As investigations unfolded, it became clear that there were flaws in both the aircraft's design and regulatory oversight. Boeing faced immense pressure to address these issues, with corporate accountability and safety protocols becoming focal points in discussions about commercial aviation safety. The crash had significant implications for global aviation, resulting in political and public calls for higher safety standards and more rigorous oversight of aircraft manufacturers.