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Paris, France - Air France Crash Families to Get $24,000 Compensation |
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The Brazilian Air Force has so far recovered 50 bodies from Flight 447 which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean
Remains of some of the 228 dead, and hundreds of pieces of wreckage reclaimed from the sea off Brazil are helping experts build a picture of what happened to the Airbus A330.
But much hope still is pinned on the relentless international search for the plane's missing flight recorders, which should provide vital data. Air France chief executive Phillipe Gourgeon said that finding them was the essential objective now.
In an interview broadcast on RTL radio, Gourgeon also said, "We are going to be very focused on the first advance of about $24,000 that is paid for each victim." He added there were no strings attached to accepting the advance.
Air France also is looking into holding a memorial for all the victims of the May 31 crash, Gourgeon said.
Some families of French victims have accused Air France of a lack of sympathy and of failing to provide them with timely information on the crash investigation.
The airline's lawyers are contacting the families of the victims, from 32 countries, to make sure the advance money gets to them.
Contacting them is no easy matter, Gourgeon said. Sometimes the only contact number for a victim is from a mobile phone that was lost in the crash.
Searchers from Brazil, France, the United States and other countries are methodically scanning the Atlantic for signs of the plane, which crashed into the sea after flying into thunderstorms.
A Brazilian naval ship arrived in the coastal city Recife, carrying a significant amount of debris and passengers' baggage, the military said in an e-mailed statement. No other details were available.
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Read Comments (2) — Post Yours »
1
Jun 19, 2009 at 01:26 PM Anonymous Says:
why? I've never heard of any other airplane crash where the victims families were compensated.
2
Jun 21, 2009 at 05:09 PM Anonymous Says:
“ why? I've never heard of any other airplane crash where the victims families were compensated. ”
That's because you do not read newspapers and stay current on world happenings. This is the usual scenario which takes place post crash and before the victim's families start to file law suits.