The families of more than 100 people killed in a jetliner crash in Indonesia last month plan to sue plane manufacturer Boeing, a US-law firm representing the families said today.

An American law firm is suing planemaker Boeing, accusing the company of failing to tell a Taiwanese airline that cracks in one of its planes were improperly repaired before the jumbo jet crashed.

Neither turbulence from another jet nor pressure placed on the rudder by a desperate pilot should have been enough to snap off the tail of Flight 587, aviation experts have said.