Boeing
Co said yesterday it would give $100mn over multiple years to local
governments and non-profit organisations to help families and
communities affected by the deadly crashes of its 737 MAX planes in
Indonesia and Ethiopia.
The move appears to be a step toward
repairing the image of the world’s largest plane maker, which has been
severely dented by the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane in March
just five months after a similar crash of a Lion Air flight in
Indonesia.
The two crashes killed a total of 346 people.
Boeing is
the target of a US Department of Justice criminal investigation into
the development of the 737 MAX, regulatory probes and more than 100
lawsuits by victims’ families.
The multiyear payout is independent of the lawsuits and would have no impact on litigation, a Boeing spokesman said.
The
$100mn, which is less than the list price of a 737 MAX 8, is meant to
help with education and living expenses and to spur economic development
in affected communities, Boeing said.
It did not specify which authorities or organisations would receive the money.
Many
of the passengers on board the Ethiopian Airlines flight were aid
workers or involved with health, food, or environmental programmes.
“If
the money is spent on furthering the work of the people on that
airplane it would be money well spent,” said Justin Green, a New
York-based attorney representing several of the Ethiopia crash victims.
But he said the fund would not affect his clients’ courtroom strategy: “What families really want to know is why this happened.
Could this have been avoided?”
Anton
Sahadi, a representative of relatives of the Lion Air crash victims,
said the families appreciated the $100mn fund but it did not mean they
would stop lawsuits.
“We will continue to fight for our rights in the courts,” he said. “Boeing is doing this to build their image back.”
After
the Lion Air crash on October 29 Boeing started developing a software
fix on a stall-prevention system called MCAS believed to have played a
role in that disaster, as well as in the Ethiopian crash.
The 737 MAX
was grounded worldwide after the second crash and regulators must
approve the fix and new pilot training before the jets can fly again.
But
just last month, regulators identified a new problem that will delay
commercial flight for the jets until October at the earliest.
Boeing
is in settlement talks over the Lion Air litigation and has separately
offered to negotiate with families of Ethiopian Airlines victims, but
some families have said they are not ready to settle, exposing the plane
maker to a lengthy court battle.
“The Boeing brand is worth far more
than $100mn and the board and executive leadership understand that is
what is at stake,” said William Klepper, a Columbia Business School
professor.
Following an initial response that public relations
experts criticised as stilted and lawyer-driven, Boeing has been on a
charm offensive, with executives at the Paris Airshow last month
repeatedly apologising for the loss of life.
Boeing chief executive
officer Dennis Muilenburg posts regular Twitter updates on efforts to
safely return the 737 MAX to service and win back public confidence.
Robert
Clifford, a Chicago-based attorney with several of the Ethiopian crash
cases, suggested some of Boeing’s $100mn pledge could be spent assisting
efforts to return the remains of victims to their families.
“These families are distraught about the effort to get back their loved ones,” Clifford said. “They want closure.”
Boeing
has also offered to match any employee donations in support of the
families and communities impacted by the accidents through December.
A Boeing 737 MAX airplane sits on the production line at the company’s manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, US in March.