Boeing to start paying compensation to families of victims killed in 737 Max crashes

Helen Regan, CNN

(CNN)Boeing will begin to pay $50 million in financial assistance to the families of more than 300 victims of the two 737 Max crashes, the company announced Monday.

The Boeing Financial Assistance Fund set aside for the victims' relatives is half of a $100 million pledge "to address family and community needs of those affected by the tragedies," announced in July.

Boeing said the other half of the fund will support education and economic empowerment in impacted communities.

The money works out to $144,500 to the families of each of the 346 victims of the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which crashed just months apart, according to Reuters.

In July, Boeing hired attorney Kenneth Feinberg and his colleague, Camille Biros, to come up with a formula to determine how the money is allocated amongst the grieving families.

The company's CEO Dennis Muilenburg said the opening of the fund "is an important step in our efforts to help affected families.""The recent 737 MAX tragedies weigh heavily on all of us at Boeing, and we continue to extend our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of all those on board," Muilenburg said in a statement.

'Vague' and 'disingenuous'

But news of the fund has not gone down well with many of the victims' relatives.Bob Clifford, who represents dozens of families affected by the March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash, told CNN Business earlier this month that the compensation offer from Boeing was "disingenuous" and "vague.""Half of the fund for relief is a problem," he said in a July statement. "Even giving Boeing its due, it missed its mark because they added a new layer of confusion to expedient and efficient relief to these families." Read more...