MH17: MAS settles with Aussie family

> Couple who lost four next of kin in tragedy withdraw lawsuit

PETALING JAYA: Close to three years after the downing of MH17, Malaysia Airlines System Berhad (MAS) has reached a settlement with an Australian family who lost four of its family members on the ill-fated flight.

Anthony Maslin and Marite Norris withdrew their lawsuit and are the first Australian family to reach a settlement with the airline.

MAS and Colin Biggers & Paisley, the law firm which represented the family, confirmed that the matter had been resolved.

“MAS confirms that it has reached an amicable and confidential settlement with the Maslin family and therefore the suit has been withdrawn,” Malaysia Airlines said in a statement yesterday.

Maslin and Norris from Perth lost three children – Mo, 12, Evie, 10, and Otis, eight – in the crash. Norris’ father, Nick, also perished in the incident.

“MAS will not, however, disclose any further details on this suit or about the details of the settlement in respect to the privacy of the family.

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families and friends affected,” the statement added.

Following their loss, which they claimed they learned from news reports, Maslin and Norris said they suffered nervous shock as well as depressive and psychiatric illnesses that required counselling, treatment and medication.

The airline, however, said the settlement was “not tantamount to an admission of liability of guilt”.

“Malaysia Airlines was flying over an unrestricted airspace and was compliant of all applicable regulatory requirements in preparing and operating its flight as confirmed by the Dutch Safety Board in its final report into the crash of MH17,” it said.

The MAS’ Boeing 777 aircraft was shot down with a Buk surface-to-air missile while cruising at an altitude of 30,000ft over eastern Ukraine near the Russian border on July 17, 2015, killing all 298 people on board.

MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew members, when it was shot about 32km before entering Russian airspace.

The plane had taken off from Amsterdam at 6.30pm Malaysian time and had been scheduled to arrive at the KL International Airport (KLIA). However, MAS lost contact with the plane at 9.20pm that night.

Last year, the next-of-kin of seven passengers on board the flight filed a suit against MAS with respect to the loss of lives of their family members.

The next-of-kin to four Indonesians and three citizens of the Netherlands filed the suit through their counsel, Datuk Dr S. Arunan, at the Kuala Lumpur Civil High Court registry here.

Arunan told reporters that the 11 plaintiffs, who declined to reveal their identities, named MAS as the sole defendant in the lawsuit.

While counsel Shailender Bhar, who is representing the next-of-kin of eight other victims on board the flight, also submitted a negligence and breach of contract suit against MAS and Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) at the same time.

According to the statement of claim, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendant operated the MH17 flight over an area known to be under armed conflict.

They submitted the claim under the provisions of the Carriage by Air Act, 1974, the Montreal Convention of 1999 and/or the Civil Law Act 1956 for the deaths of the deceased.

They are seeking general damages, special damages, interest, costs and any other relief deemed fit by the court.