Ethiopia Airlines Group CEO deeply regrets the fatal accident involving ET 302 on March 10, 2019 on a scheduled flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi.
The Group CEO who was at the accident scene confirmed there was no survivors.
He expressed his profound sympathy and condolences to the families and loved ones of passengers and crew who lost lives in this tragic incident.
Kenya’s Transport Secretary said there were passengers from at least 35 countries on board the flight.
This is the second fatal accident involving Boeing 737MAX in less than five months, but the two should be linked just yet.
Pilots reported difficulties and asked for permission to turn back to Addis Ababa, disclosed Ethiopia Airlines CEO.
A Lion Air Flight 610 operated by Boeing 737 MAX passenger plane with 189 people on board has crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta on October 29, 2018.
Reports from Wikipedia indicate that the flight was a scheduled domestic service operated by the Indonesian airline Lion Air from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta to Depati Amir Airport in Pangkal Pinang. On 29 October 2018, the brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating the route crashed into the Java Sea 12 minutes after takeoff.[1][2][3][4] All 189 passengers and crew were killed in the accident.[5] It became the second deadliest airplane accident in Indonesia, only behind Garuda Indonesia Flight 152.
This was the first major accident involving the 737 MAX and the deadliest involving a 737 aircraft surpassing Air India Express Flight 812 in 2010. It is also the worst accident for Lion Air in its 18-year history, surpassing the previous crash in Surakarta that killed 25.
A preliminary investigation revealed problems noticed by passengers and crew on the aircraft’s previous flight, as well as signs of instrument failure on previous flights. As a result, Boeing issued a warning to all operators of the 737 MAX series to avoid causing an abrupt dive similar to the Lion Air flight.The Indonesian government deployed a search and rescue operation which found debris early in the morning and they recovered human remains from a 150-nautical-mile (280 km) wide area. The first victim was identified two days after the crash. The flight data recorder was located on 1 November and recovered for analysis. One member of the volunteer rescue team died during recovery operations. The cockpit voice recorder was found on 14 January 2019.[6]
‘No Survivors’ from Crashed Ethiopian Airlines Flight
It has been confirmed that there was no survivors in the crashed Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302, operated by Boeing B737-800MAX with 149 passengers and eight crew, the state broadcast said on Sunday.
”There are no survivors onboard the flight, which carried passengers from 33 countries,” said state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, quoting an unidentified source at the airline.
Flight ET302 crashed near the town of Bishoftu, 62 kilometres southeast of the capital Addis Ababa, the airline said, confirming the plane was a Boeing 737-800 MAX.
The flight left Bole airport in Addis Ababa at 8.38am (12.38pm Thailand time), before losing contact with the control tower just a few minutes later at 8.44am.
The prime minister’s office sent condolences via Twitter to the families of those lost in the crash, without offering further details.
State-owned Ethiopian is one of the biggest carriers on the continent by fleet size. It said previously that it expected to carry 10.6 million passengers last year.
Its last major crash was in January 2010, when a flight from Beirut went down shortly after takeoff.
Ethiopia Airlines Flight ET302 with 157 Persons on Board Crashes
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing B737-800MAX with 149 passengers and eight crew on board has crashed enroute Nairobi, Kenyan capital.
The airline said it regretted that its flight with number ET 302, which took off from its Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa on March 10, 2019 to Nairobi was involved in an accident around Bishoftu (Debre Zeit).
“The aircraft B-737-800MAX with registration number ET- AVJ took off at 08:38 am local time from Addis Ababa, Bole International Airport and lost contact at 08:44am. At this time search and rescue operations are in progress and we have no confirmed information about survivors or any possible causalities.
“Ethiopian Airlines staff will be sent to the accident scene and will do everything possible to assist the emergency services. It is believed that there were 149 passengers and 8 crew onboard the flight but we are currently confirming the details of the passenger manifest for the flight. Ethiopian Airlines is establishing a passenger information center and telephone number will be available shortly for family or friends of those who may have been on flight ET 302/10 March.
Ethiopian Airlines said it would release further information as soon as it was available, adding that updated information would also be on Ethiopian Airlines website at www.ethiopianairlines.com
