Boeing has allocated the remaining USD$50 million from a community fund set up in 2019. The fund was designed to provide immediate financial assistance to families of victims of the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes.
The USD$100 million fund was set up last July. In September 2019, the first tranche of USD$50 million was paid out. The administrators of the fund said they would pay each family of the 346 people killed in the two crashes USD$144,500 each.
At the time, the now-former Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said;
“The tragic loss of life in both accidents continues to weigh heavily on all of us at Boeing, and we have the utmost sympathy for the loved ones of those on board.
“We are honored to take on this important assignment of providing needed financial relief to the families of these two tragedies.”
Boeing was criticized by the victim’s families
Boeing was at the receiving end of criticism from victim’s families following the crashes, accused of dragging its feet when it came to compensation. To be fair to Boeing, this was just another crisis it was attempting to negotiate in 2019.
Payments from the community fund do not require recipients to waive their rights to sue Boeing and Boeing is facing several lawsuits from victim’s families.
However, dispersing the remaining USD$50 million does allow Boeing to draw a line under one compensation plan.
What Boeing had to say yesterday
In a statement released yesterday, Boeing’s executive vice president of Government Operations, Tim Keating said;
“When we made our initial $100 million pledge, our first priority was to ensure that we provided families with immediate financial assistance.
“Following months of extensive discussions with victims’ families, government officials, community leaders and others, we determined the best path forward – both for those who lost loved ones and the communities affected by these accidents – is to empower the families to decide how to allocate these funds.
“Through this donation, it is our hope the families will be able to honor their loved ones in a manner that is both personal and meaningful to them while also creating a lasting legacy in their communities around the world.”
The language is interesting. Allowing and “empowering” families to do with the money as they see fit; that’s mighty gracious (and even patronizing) of Boeing.
Doubtless, that’s not the message Boeing wanted to convey. Rather it is probably attributable to anodyne PR speak.
Boeing shouldn’t be criticized for trying to right a wrong but the community fund was seen by some as confusing and bureaucratic.
Community fund called vague and confusing
One lawyer who represented several families of the Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash victims called the community fund “vague” and “confusing”. Boeing also planned to give the money to local non-profits and community groups who would then have oversight of dispersing the funds as they saw fit.
Being told by an external party what your needs and priorities are is never really welcome. But credit where credit is due, Boeing took this on board and each family was allocated an equal amount, to be used as they saw fit.
Money isn’t everything and it doesn’t bring back dead family members. But it can provide for widows, put children through school, and provide some economic security.
Boeing should get some kudos for that.
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