Kenyan Families to Receive Significant Payouts in Ethiopian Airlines Crash Settlement
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Kenyan Families to Receive Significant Payouts in Ethiopian Airlines Crash Settlement
- Thirty-two Kenyan families who lost relatives in the March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash are set to receive an average of $2.73 million (approximately Sh353.3 million) each from compensation funds.
- This disbursement is part of a larger $944.5 million criminal-case victim compensation from Boeing, stemming from agreements with the US Department of Justice in 2021 and 2025.
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Families of the 32 Kenyan victims of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash are slated to receive a combined total of $87.3 million (approximately Sh11.3 billion) in compensation. This compensation is linked to settlements Boeing reached with the US Department of Justice. The crash, which occurred on March 10, 2019, six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killed all 157 people on board, including 32 Kenyans. The accident, along with the Lion Air Flight 610 crash in October 2018, was attributed to a faulty Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) in Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft. These two crashes led to the global grounding of the 737 MAX fleet for 20 months.
The current payments are part of a $444.5 million victim compensation fund established under a 2025 non-prosecution agreement between Boeing and the US Department of Justice. This fund is in addition to a $500 million compensation package from a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. Chicago-based Ribbeck Law Chartered, which represents 93 families affected by the two 737 MAX crashes, announced that Boeing would begin making these final compensation payments. Manuel von Ribbeck of the firm stated that their legal work for clients in the US, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia has concluded.
The total financial recovery for the Kenyan households, including earlier payments, is estimated at around Sh17.3 billion. While most civil cases have been settled confidentially, some families have pursued their claims through trials, resulting in substantial jury awards. For instance, in May 2026, a Chicago federal jury awarded $49.5 million to the family of Samya Stumo, a victim of Flight 302. In August 2026, an Irish family received a $29 million jury award for the death of Micheál Ryan, also a passenger on Flight 302. Boeing has also agreed to invest in compliance, safety, and quality programs as part of its agreements with the Justice Department.