Relatives of victims in the fatal crash of a Boeing 737 MAX plane operated by Ethiopian Airlines headed to court Monday for the first civil trial relating to the 2019 calamity.

The US aviation giant had come close to facing a jury on previous occasions in US District Judge Jorge Alonso's Chicago courtroom where the cases have been consolidated.

On four prior occasions, attorneys reached last-minute settlements that averted a trial.

But not this time.

The trial got underway Monday morning, with selection of an eight-person jury and opening statements expected by Tuesday afternoon.

The trial stems from the March 10, 2019 flight that went down six minutes after departing Addis Ababa for Nairobi, killing all 157 people on board.

Family members of 155 victims filed lawsuits between April

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