SAN FRANCISCO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Boeing Company announced Wednesday that it has set aside 100 million U.S. dollars to address family and community needs of those affected by two deadly air crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia last October and this March.
Boeing said the funds are an initial investment to be paid over multiple years to support education, hardship and living expenses of the families of the victims who were killed in the "tragic accidents" of Indonesian Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
The two air crashes, both involving Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, killed a combined 346 people and led to the global grounding of 737 Max aircraft since March.
"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," said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing chairman, president and CEO.
He expressed "deepest sympathies" for the families of those victims, hoping the funds will "help bring them comfort."
Boeing said its employees are encouraged to make charitable donations to support the families affected by the accidents, and the company will "match these employee donations through Dec. 31, 2019."
The U.S. top aircraft manufacturer has been grilled in recent months over the safety of its 737 airplanes as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is pressuring Boeing to update and improve a flight control software that was partially blamed for the two air crashes in five months.
