Boeing to spend $50 million to support 737 MAX crash victim families

Boeing Co said on Wednesday it will dedicate half of a $100 million fund it created after two crashes of its 737 MAX planes to provide payments to families of those killed, with veteran U.S. compensation expert Ken Feinberg hired by the world's largest plane maker to oversee the distribution.

The announcement of Feinberg's hiring came minutes before a U.S. House of Representatives hearing featuring dramatic testimony by Paul Njoroge, a father who lost three children, his wife and mother-in-law in a 737 MAX Ethiopian Air crash in March.

Feinberg told Reuters his team will "start immediately drafting a claims protocol for those eligible," with the first meeting with officials from Chicago-based Boeing later this week in Washington. Feinberg has administered many compensation funds including for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, General Motors ignition switch crashes and numerous school shootings.