Although money cannot replace a lost life, wrongful death law requires Malaysia Airlines to pay compensation for any passenger who is killed in a crash of one of its flights, even if caused by an act of war.

Officials say 283 passengers and 15 crew members died when the flight crashed in Ukraine near the Russian border on Thursday. So far, there is no evidence that the aircraft malfunctioned; officials say it was brought down by a Russian-made antiaircraft missile.

But according to the Montreal Convention, a 1999 international treaty that governs airline liability and compensation for the victims of air disasters, Malaysia Airlines is liable, regardless of whether it is at fault for the crash.

Airlines do not have to pay for damaged cargo if it’s damaged in an act of war. But in the case of death or injury to passengers, the aircraft carrier can be held liable for up to 113,100 Special Drawing Rights, an updating, weighted average of convertible currencies. On Thursday those rights amounted to $174,303 per passenger. Multiplied by 283 passengers, Malaysia Airlines would pay about $49 million to the families of victims of the crash. (Crew members are treated differently by treaty.)