The estates of 32 Kenyan victims of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 are entitled to an estimated $41.1 million in aggregate compensation from Boeing’s new $444.5 million crash-victim fund. The figure follows directly from the distribution formula in Boeing’s 2025 non-prosecution agreement, which provides an equal pro-rata share for the estate of each of the 346 people killed in the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashes.
That makes the new allocation approximately $1.285 million per victim. Kenyan families also benefited from the earlier $500 million fund created under Boeing’s 2021 deferred prosecution agreement, which paid close to $1.45 million per victim. Combining those two government-established funds produces roughly $2.73 million per victim, or about $87.35 million across the 32 Kenyan victims. That cumulative figure should not be presented as a fresh 2026 payout.
Key Overview
- Boeing’s 2025 agreement created a new $444.5 million fund for the 346 crash victims.
- Each victim’s estate is entitled to an equal pro-rata share, equal to about $1.285 million.
- The 32 Kenyan victims therefore account for approximately $41.1 million from the new fund.
- The earlier 2021 fund paid nearly $1.45 million for each crash victim.
- Combining the two funds gives about $2.73 million per victim, or roughly $87.35 million for the 32 Kenyan victims.
- The two funds are separate from private civil settlements or other lawful claims against Boeing.
- Boeing must also invest at least $455 million in compliance, safety and quality programmes under the 2025 agreement.
New Boeing Fund Adds $444.5 Million for Victims
Under the May 2025 non-prosecution agreement, Boeing agreed to deposit $444.5 million into a new compensation fund for the heirs, relatives and legal beneficiaries of victims of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
The agreement specifies that the estate of each crash victim receives an equal pro-rata share. Dividing $444.5 million by 346 victims produces an allocation of approximately $1.285 million for each victim’s estate. Kenya’s Senate previously recorded that 32 Kenyan victims died aboard Flight ET302, putting their combined share of the new fund at approximately $41.1 million.
The distinction is important because recent reports have cited about $2.73 million per Kenyan family as if that entire amount came from the new fund. In reality, that figure broadly reflects the combined value of two separate U.S. criminal-case compensation funds.
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Earlier Fund Already Paid Nearly $1.45 Million Per Victim
Boeing’s 2021 deferred prosecution agreement required the company to establish a separate $500 million crash-victim beneficiaries fund. At the time distribution began, each eligible victim’s family was allocated nearly $1.45 million.
Kenyan families began receiving those payments in 2021. Adding that earlier allocation to the roughly $1.285 million available from the new fund produces approximately $2.73 million per victim across the two programmes.
For the 32 Kenyan victims, the two government-established funds together represent about $87.35 million. This cumulative amount does not include confidential civil settlements or damages that families may have separately negotiated or pursued against Boeing.
Compensation Does Not End Other Legal Claims
The 2025 agreement specifically protects beneficiaries’ ability to pursue other lawful claims. Boeing agreed that receiving money from the new fund cannot be used to prevent a beneficiary from bringing another legal claim against the company.
That means the $444.5 million fund operates separately from private wrongful-death litigation. Some families affected by the two crashes have pursued civil settlements in U.S. courts, where compensation can reflect individual circumstances rather than the equal-share formula used for the government-established funds.
The criminal case itself has also gone through several stages. The 2021 resolution involved more than $2.5 billion in penalties, airline-customer compensation and victim funding. After authorities later determined Boeing had breached that agreement, the company entered the 2025 non-prosecution agreement, and the pending criminal information was subsequently dismissed. The latest case record shows that appellate challenges brought by some victims’ representatives continued into 2026.
Safety Obligations Extend Beyond Compensation
The financial terms of the 2025 resolution extend beyond payments to victims. Boeing agreed to an additional $243.6 million criminal penalty after credit for the amount paid under the earlier agreement, as well as at least $455 million in investments in compliance, quality and safety programmes.
The company must also retain an independent compliance consultant to assess its remediation efforts. Those requirements followed years of scrutiny over the development and certification of the 737 MAX and the role of its Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed near Bishoftu on March 10, 2019, shortly after departing Addis Ababa for Nairobi, killing all 157 people aboard. The official accident investigation identified MCAS activation and loss of control among the central elements of the accident sequence.
Combined with the 189 deaths on Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018, the two crashes killed 346 people and triggered a worldwide grounding of the 737 MAX. For Kenyan beneficiaries, the newest fund adds another significant payment, but the accurate new allocation is about $41.1 million across the 32 victims’ estates rather than a fresh $87.3 million payout.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice / Parliament of Kenya / Business Daily Africa / Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses
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