Families of Ethiopia’s air disaster victims kick over donation of funds

The families of victims of an Ethiopian air disaster have criticized Boeing’s plan to donate $100 million to unspecified charities and communities affected by two crashes, saying families should have been consulted first.

Some of the families said the announcement from the us planemaker also triggered an avalanche of unwelcome phone calls from relatives and acquaintances who believed they had received compensation.

The crash of the Boeing 737 Max Jet came only five months after the same model of plane plunged into the sea off Indonesia.

The two disasters killed a total of 346 people, triggered the global grounding of the aircraft and wiped billions off Boeing’s market value.

Boeing said the multi-year payout was not connected to the lawsuits that more than 100 families have filed against it.