Asiana offers initial US$10,000 to San Francisco crash survivors

Asiana Airlines said on Sunday it was offering an initial compensation payment worth US$10,000 to all surviving passengers on board a plane that crashed in San Francisco last month killing three people.

The South Korean airline recently started offering the cash to help the 288 surviving passengers meet urgent medical expenses and other needs before final compensation amounts are decided later, an Asiana spokeswoman said.

“This is a minimum payment we are offering for all passengers, regardless of whether they were injured or not,” she said, adding the amount will be deducted from the total compensation once it is decided.

Those who were relatively unharmed and whose ultimate compensation may come to less than US$10,000 will still be allowed to keep the rest of the money, she added.

The latest offer is not a settlement and will not affect ongoing or future lawsuits filed by passengers, the spokeswoman added.

South Korea’s second-largest air carrier is faced with a horde of legal battles after the July 6 crash, which left three dead and some 180 injured.