Families seeking compensation at pre-trial hearing into MH370

A Beijing court began a five day pre-trial hearing on Monday involving families of dozens of passengers who were on aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight, China National Radio (CNR) reported on Tuesday.

The families of 36 passengers are suing five companies, including Boeing, Malaysia Airlines and Rolls-Royce, for between 10 and 70 million yuan, Zhang Qihuai, an attorney from the Beijing Lanpeng Law Firm that is representing the families of 14 passengers, told the CNR.

The families also want to know the current state of the search and to determine responsibility for the plane’s disappearance.

Zhang said at the hearing, Malaysia Airlines and Malaysia Airlines Berhad blamed each other for the mysterious disappearance of the airplane.

Malaysia Airlines restructured in September 2015 to create another corporation named Malaysia Airlines Berhad.

Representatives from Boeing and Rolls-Royce said that the aircraft and engine had nothing to do with the tragedy.

Due to the complicated process and the number of people involved the trial isn’t likely to begin for three months, said Zhang.

He added that relatives of some 60 other Chinese passengers have reached a settlement with Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a Boeing 777 carrying 239 passengers, went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

Its flight recorder has never been found and only a few fragments of the wreckage have been recovered.