But insurance companies are on the scene trying to determine how much to compensate each victim's relatives in some way for their loss.
"Right now, an insurance executive is putting a price on each seat," Chicago lawyer Robert Clifford, who represents plaintiffs in airline crashes, told The Detroit News.
The amount for each victim could range from $1 million to $2 million, he said.
An important factor in determining the costs is how much investigators believe the victims suffered before the crash Thursday afternoon.
"The plane was in distress; it went into a roll; the people on board knew it," said J. Douglas Peters, a senior partner in the Charfoos & Christensen law firm, which represented some of the 156 victims of the crash of Northwest Flight 255 in 1987.
The victims' ages, health and job status are other elements in trying to place a dollar amount on human life.
Lansing forensic economist William King makes a living determining the compensation for people injured or killed in accidents.
When 120 died aboard a plane bound for Detroit from Washington, D.C., four years ago, King had the job of determining the value of the lives lost.
The more accurate the evaluation, the less legal debate will be necessary later - easing the stress the families already feel from their losses, King said.
Another factor is whether the victims had children, King said. That alone can drive the value to more than $1 million.
"If the victims are retirees, you won't go over $1 million," he said.
King also said a settlement can be reduced if the defense finds out a victim had a terminal or life-threatening disease.