Mar 7 1988
From The Space Library
In response to a civil suit brought under the Freedom of Information Act by the Associated Press and six other news organizations, the Justice Department disclosed documentation showing that the Federal Government and Morton Thiokol paid $7,735,000 in cash and annuities to settle all claims with the families of four of the crew members who died in the explosion of the Shuttle Challenger. Thiokol, maker of the faulty booster rocket blamed for the January 28, 1986, explosion, paid $4,641,000. The Government's share of the settlement was $3,094,000. The settlements were reached on December 29, 1986, with the immediate survivors of the spacecraft crew members, Francis R. Scobee, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Sharon Christa McAuliffe. Settlements had been reached among Thiokol and two other families-those of Judith Resnik and Ronald E. McNair-with no Government contribution. A claim by the widow of Michael J. Smith against Thiokol was still pending in Federal court. The Federal Government maintained that it can-not be held liable for the deaths of civilian and military government employees who die on duty. (UPI, Mar 8/88; NY Times, Mar 8/88; W Post, Mar 8/88; WSJ, Mar 8/88; USA Today, Mar 8/88; LA Times, Mar 8/88; W Times, Mar 8/88; C Trib, Mar 8/88; P Ind, Mar 8/88; AP, Mar 13/88)
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