Payments from a $444.5 million compensation fund established under Boeing’s 2025 agreement with the U.S. Justice Department are set to begin for beneficiaries of the 346 people killed in the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accidents. Chicago-based Ribbeck Law Chartered, which represents 93 clients connected to the two accidents, announced the start of payments Tuesday.
Second Victim Fund
Under Boeing’s 2025 non-prosecution agreement, the estate of each person killed is entitled to an equal share of the $444.5 million fund. It is separate from a $500 million compensation program established through Boeing’s 2021 deferred prosecution agreement, bringing the two Justice Department victim funds to a combined $944.5 million.
The latest payments follow the end of the federal criminal case involving Boeing’s disclosures to the FAA Aircraft Evaluation Group about the 737 MAX Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS. A federal judge dismissed the charge in November 2025 after the Justice Department entered into the non-prosecution agreement. Some victims’ families opposed the agreement, but the Fifth Circuit later denied their challenges.
Two MAX Accidents
Lion Air Flight 610 was involved in a fatal accident in the Java Sea on Oct. 29, 2018, killing all 189 people aboard. Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 was involved in a fatal accident near Ejere, Ethiopia, on March 10, 2019, killing all 157 aboard. The NTSB participated in both investigations as the U.S. accredited representative.
The investigations examined MCAS along with aircraft-system, certification and flight-crew-performance issues. The NTSB later issued recommendations addressing certification assumptions and flight-crew responses to multiple cockpit alerts.
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