Boeing has pledged to commit US$100 million ($135.6 million) to families affected by the two fatal 737 Max aircraft crashes in which 346 people died. The money, to be given out over several years, is meant to support education, hardship and living expenses for families affected by the two tragedies. It will also be put towards economic development initiatives in affected communities. The company is facing several lawsuits from victims’ families. Robert Clifford, a lawyer representing families of some of the Ethiopian crash victims, said Boeing, by making this offer, “appears to be disingenuous”. He says the company does not understand that families at this point in time are not interested in the money, but in speeding up the slow recovery and identification of human remains from the crash site. A Boeing spokesman stresses that the company’s pledge was “absolutely independent of the lawsuits” filed by the families of those on board both flights. In the wake of the two crashes, all 737 Max aircraft have been grounded and yet more possible software flaws have been discovered.
SINGAPORE (July 8): “Large organisations respond to leadership, not administrative heads and not managers but leaders, and Iacocca was a brilliant leader.” — Long-time car industry executive Bob Lutz, describing his mentor Lee Iacocca, who led Ford, then Chrysler. Iacocca died on July 2 aged 94.
Boeing pledges US$100 mil for 737 Max victims’ families
