Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crash update (video)
There is no evidence yet to suggest what caused the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet to hit the Mediterranean minutes after take-off. But attention focused on powerful thunder storms in the area and the possibility that an explosion could have caused the sudden end to the flight. Ethiopian Airlines is viewed as one of the best on the African continent and the Boeing 737 is one of the world’s most reliable aircraft. The last fatal incident involving the airline was in November 1996.
Crashed Ethiopia plane ‘flew into Beirut storm’
(BBC) — The Ethiopian jet that crashed into the sea off Beirut on Monday did not fly in the direction suggested by Beirut’s control tower, Lebanese officials say.
Ministers said the pilot of the Ethiopian Airlines jet was asked to correct his course, but turned in the opposite direction.
It is not clear why this happened, or if it was beyond the pilot’s control.
The authorities continue to search for the bodies of the 90 people on board the plane, who are all feared dead.
At least 24 bodies have been pulled from the sea so far. The authorities are also looking for the plane’s flight recorders.
‘Fast and strange turn’
Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi told the Associated Press news agency that the Beirut control tower had asked the pilot “to correct his path, but he did a very fast and strange turn before disappearing completely from the radar”.
On Monday, Defence Minister Elias Murr said the pilot of the plane had failed to follow instructions on take-off from the control tower for unknown reasons.
“A command tower recording shows the tower told the pilot to turn to avoid the storm, but the plane went in the opposite direction,” he said. “We do not know what happened or whether it was beyond the pilot’s control.”
Ethiopian Airlines said late on Monday the pilot had more than 20 years of experience, AP reports.
Gone
The Addis Ababa-bound flight plunged into the Mediterranean shortly after take-off from Beirut in a storm.
Flight ET409 disappeared from radar screens some five minutes after take-off at about 0200 on Monday (0000 GMT), near the village of Naameh, about 3.5km (2 miles) from the coast.
Eyewitnesses said they saw the plane fall into the sea in flames.
Some relatives of those on board have been asking why the plane was allowed to take off in such poor conditions, the BBC’s Andrew North in Beirut reports.
Officials said that 83 passengers and seven crew were on board the Boeing 737-800, which can take up to 189 passengers. Most of those on the flight were Lebanese or Ethiopian.
The UK Foreign Office said there was one British national and one person of dual nationality on board.
The other passengers included citizens of Turkey, France, Russia, Canada, Syria and Iraq, Ethiopian Airlines said in a statement on its website.
Among them was Marla Pietton, the wife of the French ambassador in Beirut.
Some of the foreign passengers are reported to be of Lebanese origin.
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Mohammad zarif
8 Feb 10 at 5:03 am
Respected all
I would like to certify that i used this flight on 12-7-2009 in my to Malabo through addis ababa and it was a very terrible flight, i was very afraid during the flight becauase of the terrible noises coming out from the turbines especially the right turbine which was causing an abnormal vibration possibly due to bad and extremely consumed turbine bearings.
When i reached Malabo safely(thanks God) i told the company that it was a huge mistake to use this flight and i told my friends there that this aircraft will explode and fall sooner or later and i refused to use the same flight in my way back home.
What i want to say is that the lives of human have become cheaper than the lives of animals and those who own the business and money do not care for the children who lost their fathers and future.
I put the blame on the management of Beirut international airport to accept such companies in the first degree.
2-i really appreciate the job done by the lebanese army and the internal diffence and others.
3-I appreciate the work of the government for all the efforts and expenses and pressure that they paid for the seek of the difficult mission and i want to tell those who lost their relatives that those who died are the children of lebanon and the lebanese government too.
Finally i feel that there is a secret behind hiding the truth from people and if we follow this secret we may reach the truth.
Thank you
Mohammad zarif