SIDNEY - A settlement has been reached with the estate of one of the students killed in an accident at the Western Nebraska Community College Aviation Maintenance Facility in Sidney last year.

WNCC and the Western Community College Area Board agreed to pay Zhaoxin Chen's estate $700,000 from the school's insurance company. The estate will also receive $10,000 from WNCC for expenses. 

Chen, 24, of China, and Yemin An, 21, of South Korea, were both fatally injured when they were working on an airplane engine at Lloyd Carr Field on April 1, 2021. Both were sophomores in the school's Aviation Maintenance Technician program. 

A memorial fund was established for other WNCC aviation students in their names. 

The status of the claim filed by An's estate has not been released. 

The college’s website says the aviation program prepares students for entry-level aviation maintenance technician jobs. WNCC has campuses in Alliance, Scottsbluff and Sidney.