Boeing pledges $100M to victims of 737 MAX crashes

FILE – In this May 8, 2019, file photo, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jetliner being built for Turkish Airlines takes off on a test flight in Renton, Wash. Boeing’s 737 Max fleet is grounded worldwide after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

FILE - In this May 8, 2019, file photo, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jetliner being built for Turkish Airlines takes off on a test flight in Renton, Wash. Boeing’s 737 Max fleet is grounded worldwide after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

CHARLESTON, SC (WCIV) — Boeing has pledged $100 million to families and communities affected by crashes of two of its commercial 737 MAX 8 airliners in the last year.

Boeing said in a press release Wednesday the money will support education, hardship and living expenses for families, along with community programs and economic development in impacted areas.

The money will be delivered in installments over multiple years, and will be allocated with guidance from local governments and non-profit organizations, Boeing says.

Two Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets — Lion Air Flight 610 from Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 — crashed in October 2018 and March 2019, respectively.

Everyone aboard both planes — 346 total people — died in the crashes.

Investigators have attributed the crashes to malfunctioning automated flight stabilizer technology on the planes, which repeatedly forced the aircraft’s noses down.

The pilots on the jets were unable to manually override the stabilizer mechanisms, resulting in the crashes, investigations showed.

“We at Boeing are sorry for the tragic loss of lives in both of these accidents and these lives lost will continue to weigh heavily on our hearts and on our minds for years to come. The families and loved ones of those on board have our deepest sympathies, and we hope this initial outreach can help bring them comfort,” Boeing president and CEO Dennis Muilenburg is quoted as saying in Wednesday’s press release.

The 737 MAX aircraft has been grounded internationally until Boeing can verify the problem believed to have caused the crashes has been fully corrected.

Boeing since has been the subject of several civil lawsuits, and is under federal investigation for negligence in connection to the crashes.

Officials with Boeing say that in addition to the $100 million pledge announced Wednesday, the company also will match through the end of 2019 donations its employees give in support of the families and communities impacted by the accidents.