Boeing announced that the manufacturer dedicated the remaining sum of its $100 million pledge to empower the local communities affected by the two Boeing 737 MAX accidents in Ethiopia and Indonesia.
Using the Boeing Community Investment Fund, the Chicago-based company allocated the remaining $50 million to the fund, which would allow the victim’s families to donate to eligible local charities of their choosing. Boeing announced the $100 million fund in July 2019.
The manufacturer partnered with two United States-based lawyers, Ken Feinberg and Camille Biros to oversee the creation of the Investment Fund and the allocation of the sum. In addition, Feinberg and Biros are assigned to identify eligible charity organizations that the victim’s families would be able to choose to donate to.
Tim Keating, Boeing’s executive vice president of Government Operations, stated that the decision to allow the victim’s families to choose the organization of their liking comes after “months of extensive discussions” with various parties, including local government officials and community leaders, resulting in the resolution, which will “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,” added Keating.
The rest of the $50 million was allocated to the victim’s families themselves in July 2019, however, the company indicated that work is still undergoing to transfer these funds for those that were closely affected.
The Boeing 737 MAX, which made its maiden commercial flight in 2017 with Malindo Air, crashed in October 2018 in Indonesia operating Lion Air Flight JT610 and in March 2019, when Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 plunged into the ground near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in March 2019. Following the second fatal accident, aviation authorities around the world grounded the aircraft, prohibiting the newest iteration of the 737 from operating commercial flights.