Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The tragedy of the Malaysian Boeing airliner shot down over Donbass in 2014 is fresh again in headlines as the airlines has settled at least one claim with an Australian family who lost family when the aircraft was brought down by a Ukrainian air force fighter plane.
Malaysia Airlines announced Tuesday it had reached a settlement with an Australian family who lost four family members on Flight MH17, which was downed over Torez in eastern Ukraine, now known as the Donetsk People’s Republic.
Perth couple Anthony Maslin and Marite Norris lost their children Evie, 10, Mo, 12, and Otis, 8, along with their grandfather on the Boeing 777 which was downed by an air to air missile, followed by cannon fire to break up the fuselage.
The airline said in a statement it had reached “an amicable and confidential settlement with the Maslin family and therefore the suit has been withdrawn.” Malaysian Airlines said it would not “disclose any further details on this suit or about the details of the settlement in respect to the privacy of the family”.
The Airline also said that to date, a “substantial number” of next-of-kin have reached settlements with the airline while others were “still seeking compensation and are pursuing their claims in their respective jurisdictions.”
Lawyers representing families of six Malaysia Airlines crew members on MH17 told reporters the airline had offered to settle for an undisclosed amount in June last year, but the families had rejected the proposed sum.
The Malaysian Airlines lawsuit in June last year came two weeks after a suit by 33 next-of-kin from Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia was filed against Russia and against President Vladimir Putin in the European Court of Human Rights.
MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Ukrainian Air Force MiG 29 using an air to air missile and cannon fire to break up the wreckage prior to impact, on July 17, 2014 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with the death of all 298 on board, most of them Dutch citizens.
Malaysia Airlines said it was flying over unrestricted airspace and had complied with all regulatory requirements.In its statement the airline said “it has always been its priority that all next-of-kin are fully compensated fairly and equitably… and this is not in any way tantamount to an admission of liability of guilt”.