The families of 32 Kenyans who died in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 disaster are set to receive a combined $87.3 million in compensation from victim funds linked to Boeing, bringing a significant chapter in the long-running legal battle closer to a conclusion.
The compensation will be distributed after legal proceedings in the United States are finalised, according to lawyers representing the families. The payout averages roughly $2.73 million for each Kenyan victim and forms part of wider compensation arrangements established in the aftermath of two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes.
The law firm representing the families said its work on behalf of clients across multiple regions, including Africa, the Middle East and Asia, had now been completed.
The payments stem from funds created under Boeing's settlements with U.S. authorities following investigations into the crashes of two 737 MAX aircraft.
Under a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement, Boeing established a $500 million fund for the families of victims. A further agreement reached in 2025 required the company to provide an additional $444.5 million for compensation.
The latest fund is being shared equally among the estates of the 346 people who lost their lives in the two disasters.
As part of the broader settlement arrangements, Boeing also committed hundreds of millions of dollars towards strengthening compliance, safety and quality control measures.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed on 10 March 2019 shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa on a scheduled flight to Nairobi.
The aircraft came down near the town of Bishoftu approximately six minutes after departure, killing all 157 passengers and crew on board.
Victims came from more than 30 countries. Kenya suffered the largest loss of life by nationality, with 32 citizens among the dead. The crash also claimed the lives of passengers from Canada, Ethiopia, Italy, China, the United States and several other countries.
The disaster occurred less than five months after the crash of Lion Air Flight 610 in Indonesia, another Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, which killed 189 people.
The two crashes prompted one of the biggest crises in Boeing's history and led aviation regulators worldwide to ground the 737 MAX fleet while investigations were carried out.
Scrutiny focused on the aircraft's flight-control system and Boeing's safety oversight processes. The company faced years of regulatory investigations, lawsuits and financial penalties as families sought accountability for the deaths of their relatives.
The compensation payments to the Kenyan families represent part of a broader effort to resolve outstanding claims arising from the crashes, which collectively claimed 346 lives and led to major changes in aircraft certification and safety procedures across the aviation industry.
For many of the affected families, the payments bring a measure of closure after years of legal proceedings following one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent history.
While no financial settlement can undo the loss suffered by relatives, the compensation represents the latest step in a lengthy process that has sought to address the consequences of a tragedy that transformed the global aviation sector and placed Boeing under intense international scrutiny.
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