Victims of Boeing crashes join forces

Victims of Boeing crashes join forces

Representatives of the families of those who perished in Boeing
plane accidents worldwide join hands during a media conference
held in Medan, North Sumatra province.

At the event on Thursday evening, they agreed to establish an
international association of relatives of aircraft accident
victims. The establishment of the association was initiated by
U.S.-based law firm Nolan Law Group, which represents the
relatives of the victims of Boeing aircraft accidents in various
countries.

Those attending Thursday's function consisted of the relatives
of victims of Boeing crashes in Peru, the Philippines, Argentina
and those who perished during last month's Boeing plane crash in
Medan. The ill-fated Boeing, belonging to Mandala, crashed in a
densely populated area of Medan city killing over 100 people,
including many on the ground.

The chairwoman of the newly established association, Monica
von Ribbeck Kelly, said it was aimed at providing assistance for
families whose loved ones had perished in aircraft accidents. The
assistance would include psychological and legal counseling.

Fortuna De Castro, a delegate from the Philippines, said that
with the association's establishment it was expected that the
families would be able to fight more effectively to ensure the
justice was done for victims.

Meanwhile, regarding the investigation into the Mandala crash
last month, Manuel von Ribbeck, a lawyer with the Nolan Law
Group, said a team was probing the cause of the accident.

Preliminary investigations had found that the Boeing aircraft
went down due to mechanical failure. This preliminary conclusion
was supported by the fact that nine Boeing 737-200s had gone down
in 11 years due to the same problem, said Manuel.