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Ethiopian Airlines Crash Kills at Least 150; 2nd Brand-New Boeing to Go Down in Months Ethiopian Airlines Crash Kills at Least 150; 2nd Brand-New Boeing to Go Down in Months
(about 1 hour later)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — An Ethiopian Airlines flight carrying more than 150 people crashed early Sunday shortly after departing from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, en route to Nairobi, Kenya, the airline said, killing everyone onboard. ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — A jetliner with passengers from at least 35 countries crashed Sunday shortly after leaving Ethiopia’s capital, killing all 157 people on board and renewing concerns about the new model of aircraft involved in the accident, the popular Boeing 737 Max 8.
The plane was identified by its manufacturer, Boeing, as one of its newest models, the 737 Max 8. The cause of the crash was unclear, but a Lion Air flight using the same model went down in Indonesia in October, killing 189 people. After taking off from Addis Ababa in good weather and with clear visibility, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, bound for Nairobi, Kenya, struggled to ascend at a stable speed, according to flight data published by FlightRadar24. The pilot sent out a distress call and was cleared to return to the airport, Bole International, the airline’s chief executive told reporters.
Officials are investigating whether changes to the Max 8’s automatic controls might have sent the Lion Air flight into an unrecoverable nose-dive. The airline said the 737 had been subjected to a “rigorous” maintenance check in February. But the plane — the same Boeing model that went down in Indonesia in October, killing all 189 people on board — lost contact with air traffic controllers six minutes after takeoff. It then plummeted to the ground near Bishoftu, a town southeast of the capital.
Flight 302 was carrying passengers from at least 35 countries, according to the airline. The dead included 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians, eight each from the United States, China and Italy, and seven each from France and Britain, the airline said. Serbia’s Foreign Ministry said one citizen, a staff worker for the United Nations World Food Program, had died. “At this stage, we cannot rule out anything,” the airline’s chief executive, Tewolde GebreMariam, told reporters.
The office of Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian prime minister, expressed “profound sadness at the loss of life,” as did President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya. The Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives declared Monday a national day of mourning. Images from the vast, smoky crater at the crash site revealed a grim tableau. Workers loaded black body bags into a truck, while plane fragments and various items from the flight — cigarettes, shoes, napkins with the Ethiopian Airlines logo — were strewn across the field.
The airline said in a statement that 149 passengers and eight crew members had been aboard the flight. The United States Embassy in Addis Ababa confirmed that Americans were onboard and said it was working with the Ethiopian government and the airline to determine their identities. Flight 302 — a two-hour shuttle between two of the busiest capitals in East Africa — was carrying passengers from at least four continents. The dead included 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians, eight each from the United States, China and Italy, and seven each from France and Britain, the airline said.
The flight took off in good weather from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa at 8:38 a.m. local time and lost contact six minutes later, the airline said. The plane went down in a field near Bishoftu, about 35 miles southeast of Addis Ababa. The passengers also reportedly included delegates traveling to Nairobi for a weeklong United Nations Environment Assembly that had been scheduled to start on Monday.
Images from the vast crash site revealed a grim tableau. Workers loaded body bags into a truck, while plane fragments and various items from the flight — cigarettes, shoes, napkins with the Ethiopian Airlines logo — were scattered across the field. [Read more about who the victims were and where they were from.]
Tewolde GebreMariam, the chief executive officer of Ethiopian Airlines, said at a news conference that the pilot had sought and been given clearance to return to the airport in Addis Ababa after reporting difficulties. While the cause of the crash was unclear, the disaster is certain to raise more doubts about the safety of the 737 Max 8, one of Boeing’s fastest-selling airplanes.
Mr. GebreMariam said that it was too early to determine a cause or to rule anything out. A team from the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States planned to work with civil aviation authorities in Ethiopia and officials from Boeing, he said. The plane, delivered to Ethiopian Airlines in November, was new, just like the Lion Air airplane that plunged nose down into the Java Sea last October, minutes after taking off from Jakarta, the Indonesian capital.
The N.T.S.B. said that it would be sending a four-person team. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement, “We are in contact with the State Department and plan to join the N.T.S.B. in its assistance with Ethiopian civil aviation authorities to investigate the crash.” Flight 302 took off in good weather, but its vertical speed became unstable right after takeoff, fluctuating wildly, according to data published by FlightRadar24 on Twitter. In the first three minutes of flight, the vertical speed varied from zero feet per minute per hour to 1,472 to minus 1,920 — unusual during ascent.
The airline identified the pilot as Yared Getachew. It said he had more than 8,000 flight hours and described his performance as “commendable.” “During takeoff, one would expect sustained positive vertical speed indications,” Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for FlightRadar24, said in an email on Sunday.
Crashes involving new planes in good weather are rare.
The Lion Air accident also involved a plane that crashed minutes after takeoff and after the crew requested permission to return to the airport. The Lion Air pilots struggled to keep the plane ascending, with the jet’s nose forced dangerously downward over two dozen times during the 11-minute flight.
The National Transportation Safety Board in the United States said that it would send a four-person team to assist Ethiopian authorities investigating Sunday’s crash. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement, “We are in contact with the State Department and plan to join the N.T.S.B. in its assistance with Ethiopian civil aviation authorities to investigate the crash.”
Boeing said in a statement on Twitter that a technical team was ready to provide assistance at the request of the safety board.
In the Lion Air crash, officials are investigating whether changes to the Max 8’s automatic controls might have sent that flight into an unrecoverable nose dive.
Investigations by Indonesian and American aviation authorities have determined that the Lion Air plane’s abrupt nose‐dive may have been caused by updated Boeing software that is meant to prevent a stall but that can send the plane into a fatal descent if the altitude and angle information being fed into the computer system is incorrect.
The change in the flight control system, which can override manual actions taken in the Max model, was not adequately explained to pilots, American aviation authorities concluded.
Global alerts were sent to notify pilots flying the Max about how to counter the anti‐stall system.
Families of some of the victims of the Lion Air crash are suing Boeing, arguing that the company failed to properly inform pilots of the updated software.
[After a Lion Air 737 Max crashed in October, questions about the plane arose]
Lynette Dray, an aviation expert and senior research associate at University College London, said that the Max model has a more efficient engine than the previous 737 aircraft, but that “it’s not revolutionary new.”
Boeing has delivered 200 Max 8 models to airlines around the world, including in the United States, Canada and Europe. The planes entered service in 2017, generally replacing older 737’s.
Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s biggest carrier and widely considered its best, has expanded rapidly in recent years, opening new routes all over the continent.
The airline has ordered 30 of the Max 8 planes and already had five in its fleet, with the first being delivered last year, according to FlightRadar24.
Boeing had promoted the model by minimizing the costs of upgrading, saying the 737 Max 8 required little additional training for pilots who had flown a previous version of the plane. That is believed to have been a key in winning orders from airlines that had also been considering an updated model, the Airbus A320, from Boeing’s archrival.
There has not been a crash involving Ethiopian Airlines since January 2010, when a Boeing 737 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after it took off from Beirut, Lebanon. None of the 90 people onboard that flight — 82 passengers and eight crew members — survived.
Ethiopian Airlines said on Sunday that the captain of the flight, Yared Getachew, had more than 8,000 flying hours and a “commendable performance.”
The plane, which underwent a “rigorous first check maintenance” on Feb. 4, had flown back to the Ethiopian capital from Johannesburg, South Africa, on Sunday morning, according to the airline.
“Ethiopian Airlines is very, very highly regarded; it’s part of the Star Alliance,” Graham Braithwaite, a professor of safety and accident investigation at Cranfield University in Britain, said by phone on Sunday.“Ethiopian Airlines is very, very highly regarded; it’s part of the Star Alliance,” Graham Braithwaite, a professor of safety and accident investigation at Cranfield University in Britain, said by phone on Sunday.
Professor Braithwaite was referring to the airline alliance that includes carriers like Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and United, and he described Ethiopian Airways as “one of the best operators in Africa.” Professor Braithwaite was referring to the airline alliance that includes carriers like Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and United.
The lead investigation will start in the country where the crash happened, Ethiopia, he said, but other countries will also be involved — Kenya and the United States, independently of Boeing, because the aircraft was made in the United States.The lead investigation will start in the country where the crash happened, Ethiopia, he said, but other countries will also be involved — Kenya and the United States, independently of Boeing, because the aircraft was made in the United States.
“They’ll want to work quite swiftly,” Professor Braithwaite said. “It’s in nobody’s interest that a failure goes unknown.”“They’ll want to work quite swiftly,” Professor Braithwaite said. “It’s in nobody’s interest that a failure goes unknown.”
The priority will be to make sure there is no link between the crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia, and other countries and airlines will no doubt be watching closely, given the plane’s popularity. The priority will be to make sure there is no link between the crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia, and other countries and airlines will no doubt be watching closely, given the plane’s global popularity.
Relatives of the passengers anxiously waited for news, as journalists from around the world descended on Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. At least three buses carrying family members left the airport for a nearby hotel, where they were shielded from the press. At Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, distraught family members and friends gathered at an emergency center established by the authorities. Another emergency center was set up at a nearby hotel within the airport to provide counseling.
“I came to the airport to receive my brother, but I have been told there is a problem,” one family member, Agnes Muilu, told The Associated Press. “I just pray that he is safe, or he was not on it.” “I came to the airport to receive my brother but I have been told there is a problem,” one family member, Agnes Muilu, told The Associated Press. “I just pray that he is safe, or he was not on it.”
The Kenyan transport secretary, James Macharia, said his country was setting up two emergency response centers to assist those who had friends and relatives on the flight. Flight 302 was popular with aid workers based in Ethiopia who needed to exit and re-enter the country regularly so as not to violate work permits.
“The purpose of these centers is to provide the relatives with information, as much as we have,” he said. “At the same time, to provide them with an environment of privacy.” The executive director of the World Food Program, a United Nations organization, said on Twitter that staff members from the group were among the dead. Aid workers from the United Nations, Catholic Relief Services and other organizations were also aboard the plane.
There has not been a crash involving Ethiopian Airlines since January 2010, when a Boeing 737 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after it took off from Beirut, Lebanon. None of the 90 people onboard that flight — 82 passengers and eight crew members — survived. Ethiopia, with about 100 million people, is the second‐most populous nation in Africa. Since elections in March, the new prime minister has been embarking on a series of political reforms, chiefly to officially end two decades of hostilities with Eritrea, a neighboring country and longtime rival.
The latest known accident involving the airline was in January 2015, when a Boeing 737-400 cargo aircraft veered off the runway with flat tires after it landed in Accra, Ghana. The country’s flagship carrier has undergone a major expansion, more than doubling its staff to 11,000 employees in the past decade, with the goal of easing air travel in a part of the world where flying is notoriously complicated.
The Lion Air Max 8 that crashed in Indonesia was a brand-new plane, like Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which was delivered to the African carrier late last year, according to websites that track commercial fleet updates. It added nonstop flights, for instance, from Newark to Lomé, Togo, a hub for the airline, that then continue on to Addis Ababa.
[After a Lion Air 737 Max crashed in October, questions about the plane arose]
Lynette Dray, an aviation expert and senior research associate at University College London, said that the Max model has a more efficient engine than the previous 737 aircraft, but that “it’s not revolutionary new.”
The plane took off in good weather, but the vertical speed of Flight 302 was unstable after takeoff, fluctuating wildly, according to data published by FlightRadar24 on Twitter.
In the first three minutes of flight, the vertical speed varied from 0 feet per minute to 1,472 to minus 1,920 — unusual during ascent.
“During takeoff, one would expect sustained positive vertical speed indications,” Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for FlightRadar24, said in an email on Sunday.
Crashes involving new planes in good weather are rare. The Lion Air accident also involved a plane that crashed minutes after takeoff and in that case, too, the crew requested permission to return to the airport.
Investigations by the Indonesian and American aviation authorities have determined that the Lion Air plane’s abrupt nose-dive may have been caused by updated Boeing software. The software is meant to prevent a stall, but it can send the plane into a fatal descent if the altitude and angle information being fed into the computer system is incorrect.
The change in the flight-control system, which can override manual motions in the Max model, was not explained to pilots, according to some pilots’ unions. Global alerts were sent to notify pilots flying the Max about how to counter the anti-stall system.
Ethiopia, with about 100 million people, is the second-most populous nation in Africa. Since elections in March, the new prime minister has embarked on a series of political reforms, chiefly to officially end two decades of hostilities with neighboring Eritrea, a longtime rival.
The country’s flagship carrier has undergone a major expansion, more than doubling its staff to 11,000 employees in the past decade, with the goal of easing air travel in a part of the world where flying is notoriously complicated. For instance, it added nonstop flights from Newark to Lomé, Togo, a hub for the airline, that then continued on to Addis Ababa.
In West Africa, Ethiopian is the technical and strategic partner for a relatively new airline, Asky, created with investment from the Economic Community of West African States. Asky offers a web of cross-border flights in West and Central Africa and connects with Ethiopian flights to expand its reach across the continent and beyond.
In Africa, Ethiopian has a reputation for having a newer fleet than other airlines, for operating flights that are mostly on time and for having accommodating schedules.In Africa, Ethiopian has a reputation for having a newer fleet than other airlines, for operating flights that are mostly on time and for having accommodating schedules.
The airline has ordered 30 Boeing 737 Max jets, with the first being delivered last year. It currently has five of the models in its fleet, according to FlightRadar24. Professor Braithwaite described Ethiopian Airways as “one of the best operators in Africa.”
Chinese news websites said that the eight Chinese killed on the flight included tourists and businesspeople. One was Zhou Yuan, a worker for the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, which sells electronics, communications and security technology for civilian and military needs, the Beijing News reported, citing a press officer for the corporation.
Ethiopia and Kenya have drawn growing numbers of Chinese investors and tourists in recent years. The casualties may also include people from Hong Kong or Taiwan, whom China counts as its own citizens.
The Russian Embassy confirmed the deaths of three citizens and expressed its condolences, as did Canada, which had the second-highest number of victims on the flight. “Terrible news from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this morning,” the foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, wrote on Twitter. “My heartfelt condolences to all those who have lost loved ones.”
Ms. Freeland added that the Canadian government was in close contact with the Ethiopian authorities to gather additional information as quickly as possible.