Western Nebraska Community College and the Western Community College Area Board have now settled claims brought by the estates of two students killed in an accident last year at the WNCC Aviation Maintenance Training facility in Sidney.
The settlement with the estate of 24-year-old Zhaoxin Chen of China was approved in May and with the estate of 21-year-old Yemin An of Seoul, South Korea, this month.
Attorney Phil Kelly says the settlements give both estates $700,000 from WNCC’s liability insurance carrier plus $10,000 from the college itself for expenses.
An and Chen were both sophomores in the Aviation Maintenance Technician program when they were fatally injured while working on an airplane engine on April 1, 2021.
WNCC has never released details on how the accident happened, but did establish a memorial fund in the names of both Chen and An shortly after their deaths.