An Ethiopian Airlines plane on the way to Nairobi, Kenya, crashed in Addis Ababa, just a 6 minutes after take-off, killing all 157 passengers and crew aboard.
The dead are from are from at least 35 countries according to Associated Press.
Names of the victims have not been released but 32 Kenyans and 8 Americans are among those confirmed dead.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office released the following statement on Twitter.
The Office of the PM, on behalf of the Government and people of Ethiopia, would like to express it’s deepest condolences to the families of those that have lost their loved ones on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 on regular scheduled flight to Nairobi, Kenya this morning.
— Office of the Prime Minister – Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) March 10, 2019
It’s a mystery why the brand new Boeing 737 Max 8 plane in clear weather. The accident is similar to October 2018 crash of an Indonesian Lion Airline plane that killed 189 people according to Associated Press.
This accident adds more scrutiny on Boeing 737 Max 8. According to a BBC report, 737 Max 8 has several different features compared to Boeing’s older models. A Jakarta-based aviation expert Gerry Soejatman said the jet’s engine is “a bit further forward and a bit higher in relation to the wing. That affects the balance of the plane.”
According to The New York Times, Officials are investigating whether changes to the Max 8’s automatic controls might have sent that flight into an unrecoverable nose-dive.
In Nov 2018, following the Lion Airline plane crash, Boeing released a field bulletin warning passengers and operators about 737 Max safety concerns. The bulletin alerted airlines that erroneous readings from a flight-monitoring system can cause the planes to abruptly dive according to a Bloomberg News Report.
Boeing, the manufacturer of the plane, has released the following statement on Twitter regarding the crash.
Boeing Statement on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302: https://t.co/0jyiFuGHIE pic.twitter.com/NfE5S4LSlz
— Boeing Airplanes (@BoeingAirplanes) March 10, 2019
Ethiopian Airlines is considered one of the safest Airlines in the world with a 6/7 star rating in Airline safety ratings. Ethiopian Airlines currently has 5 Boeing 737 Max 8 planes in its fleet all less than 1 year old.
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has released the following message of condolence on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/UKenyatta/status/1104678914071453696
Ethiopian Airlines has released the following statement on Twitter.
Accident Bulletin no. 1
Issued on march 10, 2019 at 11:00am
Ethiopian Airlines will release further information as soon as it is available. Updated information will also be on Ethiopian Airlines website at https://t.co/Je7pXoKxHh pic.twitter.com/07wKZHPVPl— Ethiopian Airlines (@flyethiopian) March 10, 2019
The US Embassy in Ethiopia released the following message on Twitter
The U.S. Embassy is aware of the crash this morning of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302. We extend our sincerest sympathies to all who are impacted by this tragic event. https://t.co/jHJ8HpGRiR
— U.S. Embassy Addis (@USEmbassyAddis) March 10, 2019
This is a developing story. We will update as more reports come in.
To correct errors or for questions regarding this report, please email maurice@ndolemedia.com