A preliminary report into the cause of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 tragedy found no radar evidence of a combat jet in the vicinity of the plane before it was shot down. Russian state media claimed a Ukranian plane could be responsible. What else was in the report? WSJ's Jason Bellini has #TheShortAnswer.
MALAYSIA Airlines could face a costly negligence lawsuit on top of a $54.5 million compensation bill for the loss of 298 lives on MH17.
Legal experts have suggested the airline is likely to be sued by the victims' families and even governments for sending MH17 over the Ukraine on July 17.
The airline has also indicated it expects further lawsuits, confirming compensation being offered to families would not be conditional on the cessation of legal action.
Under the Montreal Convention, Malaysia Airlines is held liable for the crash even though pilot error or mechanical issues have been ruled out as the cause.
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Rubble ... a man standing at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
The convention allows for compensation of about $183,000 to be paid for each victim, which would add up to a total bill of $54.5 million for the airline.
An airline spokeswoman said an advance payment of $50,000 being offered to relatives would be part of the final damages payable.
Crash site ... part of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 at the crash site in the village of Hrabove (Grabovo), some 80km east of Donetsk. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
"The payment being offered is not conditional on the families waiving any rights to claim further compensation from the airline and that the families remain free to take whatever further legal action they deem appropriate," she said.
"Our foremost priority is to work tirelessly to attend to the care and support of the next-of-kin.
"We will also do our utmost to ensure that fair and adequate compensation is paid to families of those affected by this tragedy as soon as possible."
Tributes ... soft toys places at a monument created at the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash site in the village of Hrabove (Grabovo). Picture: AFP Source: AFP
Compensation payments are expected to take up to a year to finalise, depending on what sort of legal action is taken.
Although Malaysia Airlines was not responsible for the horrific crash, the decision to fly over the Ukraine remains under investigation by the Dutch Safety Board.
Three other commercial passenger jets were in the same airspace at the time of the apparent missile strike that brought down MH17.
Before being shot down ... the Dutch Safety Board's preliminary report on MH17 shows four commercial aircraft in the airspace, in which the Boeing 777 was shot down. Source: Supplied
The air space over eastern Ukraine was closed immediately after the incident.
US carriers were already avoiding the area at the time, and Qantas had also taken the decision not to fly over the war zone.
Flight radar ... the day after the MH17 disaster, and the closure of eastern Ukraine airspace. Source: Supplied
Aviation lawyer Jerry Skinner, who is representing two families caught up in the MH17 disaster, urged Malaysia Airlines to resolve the compensation issue quickly.
"It could be resolved quickly — a deliberate military action in a place where an aircraft didn't belong — the whole thing just cries out for let's all sit down, the airline, the countries and let's agree on a resolution," Mr Skinner said.
"People in this situation, everything that happens that they don't understand or expect, exacerbates the grief and makes it worse."
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