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Tag: Ethiopian Airlines crash

  • Ethiopia releases report into fatal Boeing MAX 737 crash

    Ethiopia on Thursday released a preliminary report into the cause of March deadly Boeing 737 MAX 8 crash, which will be closely scrutinised for similarities to another accident involving the same model of plane.

    Aviation authorities around the world grounded Boeing 737 MAX aircraft after the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10 left 157 people dead.

    The same Boeing model was involved in a Lion Air plane crash in Indonesia in October that killed 189 people.

    Data from the black box of the Ethiopian jet show similarities between the two crashes.

    In particular, a piece of software used for flight control has come under scrutiny.

    A Foreign Affairs Ministry official was cited for the initial information that the report was due to be released Monday.

    Nebiat Getachew was widely quoted with Bloomberg adding that embattled plane maker Boeing said it was reviewing the report.

    Meanwhile, the U.S. aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, said that it was waiting to receive final package of Boeing’s software enhancement over the coming weeks.

    Read Also: Ethiopia to issue first Boeing investigation report on Thursday

    “Time is needed for Boeing to as the result of an ongoing review of the 737 MAX flight control system to ensure that Boeing has identified and appropriately addressed all pertinent issues.

    “Upon receipt, the FAA will subject Boeing’s completed submission to a rigorous safety review.

    “The FAA not approves the software for installation until the agency is satisfied with the submission,’’ FAA said.

    The plane maker recently announced a software upgrade and invited its clients to a meeting over the issue.

    The meeting was however poorly attended with Ethiopian opting out.

  • Ethiopia to issue first Boeing investigation report on Thursday

    Investigators will release on Thursday a keenly awaited report on the deadly crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet, Ethiopia’s Transport Ministry said, giving the first official clues to the second crash of a new Boeing 737 MAX in five months.

    Some 35 nationalities were among the 157 passengers and crew who died when the nearly full plane crashed six minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, in clear conditions.

    The March 10 disaster prompted a worldwide grounding of Boeing’s best-selling plane and scrutiny of its certification process.

    “The 10:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) press conference is to present the preliminary report,” Ethiopian Transport Ministry spokesman Musie Yehyies said.

    The report may shed light on how a piece of cockpit software came back to life after pilots initially switched it off as they tried to save the doomed jet, people familiar with the matter said, placing both technology and crew in the spotlight.

    Boeing said on Wednesday it successfully tested an update of the MCAS anti-stall software that is at the centre of probes in both the Ethiopian crash and October’s Lion Air accident in Indonesia that together killed 346 people.

    Boeing said its CEO Dennis Muilenburg joined the Wednesday test flight and that the flight crew performed different scenarios to test failure conditions.

    “The software update worked as designed and the pilots landed safely at Boeing Field” near Seattle, the company said in a statement.

    The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said it was launching a new review of the 737 MAX.

    Read Also: Boeing sued over Ethiopian Airlines crash

    The Ethiopian-led investigation has begun piecing together details of flight 302, starting with faulty sensor data on take-off from Addis Ababa, questions over the Boeing 737 MAX’s high speed and a nosedive coinciding with the software re-activation.

    The aircraft’s high speed and initial climb suggests the engines were running at a higher than usual thrust, experts say.

    MCAS was designed to help prevent an aerodynamic stall by issuing commands to push the plane’s nose lower. However, in both cases it is suspected of firing up in response to faulty airflow data from a single sensor designed to measure the “angle of attack,” a parameter needed to avoid stalling or losing lift.

    Echoing the fate of the Lion Air jet, initial evidence suggests the Ethiopian Airlines jet experienced sensor problems shortly after take-off, causing the MCAS software to begin lowering the nose to grab air under the wings.

    Unlike the Lion Air crew, who were flying at a time when pilots had been told little about the MCAS software, the Ethiopian crew used switches to turn the automatic system off, but it later re-engaged, people familiar with the matter said.

    Although aircraft experts say MCAS cannot turn back on by itself, the report is expected to shed light on whether and why the crew chose to restore electrical power to the system at the risk of setting off more automated nose-down movements.

    Aerospace analyst Bjorn Fehrm said in a blog post for Leeham News that pilots may have deliberately re-activated the system in order to make it easier to control the aircraft only to be overwhelmed by rapid counter-moves from MCAS.

    Investigators will also look at whether the crew carried out all necessary procedures, including a recommendation to stabilise the plane using the control system before turning the crucial software off.

    The pilots maneuvered the plane upwards at least two times before

  • Boeing sued over Ethiopian Airlines crash

    Boeing Corporation has been sued on behalf of a passenger killed in last month’s 737 Max plane crash in Ethiopia and orders for the troubled aircraft wavered in Asia, deepening the planemaker’s legal and financial woes.

    Chicago-based Boeing is under intense scrutiny after two crashes since October killed 346 people.

    As the company finalises a software upgrade for the grounded 737 Max, it’s fighting to hang onto some customers whose confidence in the best-selling jet has been shaken. Boeing is also facing a criminal probe into how the plane was originally approved to fly.

    The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the estate of Ethiopian Airlines passenger Jackson Musoni of Rwanda, claims the 737 Max 8 isn’t safely designed. The complaint follows earlier suits against the company over an October crash in Indonesia involving the same model. A Boeing spokeswoman declined to comment on Thursday’s complaint in a federal court in Chicago.

    “The subject accident occurred because, among other things, Boeing defectively designed a new flight control system for the Boeing 737 Max 8 that automatically and erroneously pushes the aircraft’s nose down, and because Boeing failed to warn of the defect,” according to the complaint.

    Flag-carrier airline Garuda Indonesia said it’s going ahead with plans to cancel a $4.8 billion order for 49 Max 8s. Still, Garuda is sticking with Boeing and has asked the manufacturer for different aircraft. In Vietnam, Bamboo Airways agreed to buy as many as 26 narrow-body jets from Airbus SE, just a month after saying it was considering ordering as many as 25 Boeing 737 Max planes.

    Kenya Airways Is Talking to Airbus, But Hasn’t Discarded Boeing

    Boeing is preparing to submit final paperwork to U.S. regulators for a software upgrade for an anti-stall countermeasure on the 737 Max that investigators said in a preliminary report repeatedly pushed the nose down on the Max operated by Lion Air. In that case, the jet went into a dive prior to crashing into the Java Sea in October.

    Authorities are probing whether the system was a factor in the March 10 crash of the Ethiopian Airlines jet, which regulators said behaved similarly to the earlier downed plane.

  • Ethiopian Airlines crash: Senate mourns Nigerians

    The Nigerian Senate today, 19th March 2019 mourned the death of two Nigerians who died in the Ethiopian airline crash of 10th March 2019.

    The Senate equally resolved on the need for Nigeria to protect its airspace from the Boeing 737 MAX 8 Series while also ensuring that all aircrafts’ operating within Nigeria are air worthy in order to keep Nigerians safe at all times.

    The Senate resolution flowed directly from a motion titled “The Sad Demise of two illustrious Nigerians in the recent Ethiopian Airlines Crash of 10th March, 2019 and the need for Nigeria to protect its airspace from the Boeing 737 Max 8 series pending the determination of its Air worthiness”. The Motion was sponsored by Distinguished Senate Gbenga Ashafa, representing Lagos East in the Senate and Chairman Senate Committee on Land Transport.

    Ashafa moved the motion expressing sadness that Nigeria lost two illustrious citizens in the crash. He was quoted as saying thus “Notes with great sadness that two illustrious Nigerians were among the 157 people who lost their lives in the ill-fated Ethiopian Airlines flight ET – 302, which went down near Bishoftu a community roughly 60 kilometers southeast of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

    Notes that the said late distinguished Nigerians aboard the flight were Ambassador Abiodun Bashua, a former United Nations and African Union, Deputy Joint Special Representative in Darfur, Sudan and Professor Pius Adesanmi, a Professor of Literary Arts in Carleton University, Ottawa Canada, and a popular advocate for good governance”

    The Senator went on further to intimate the Senate that the two Nigerians who lost their lives were no ordinary citizen as the two of them distinguished themselves in their various fields and till their death were worthy Ambassadors of Nigeria in the Diaspora.

    Ashafa observed that it was not the first time that a Boeing 737 Max 8 series aircraft had crashed under similar circumstances. He thereafter commended the Minister for Transportation (Aviation) Senator Hadi Sirika for the restriction placed on the use of the Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 series aircrafts within the Nigerian airspace pending the outcome of the investigation of the plane crash.

    In their contribution to the Motion, Senator Mao Ohuanbunwa and Minority Leader, Senator Biodun Olujimi expressed their sadness over the death of the two Nigerians, while also commending the Minister of State for Transportation for the restriction on the use of the Air craft. Both Senators agreed on the need for Nigeria to own its own National Airline to be able to monitor and regulate its use.

    The senate along with the resolutions made observed a minute silence in honour of the two deceased.

     

    Sylva urges youths to emulate late Adesanmi

    A Former Governor of Bayelsa State and Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Timipre Sylva, yesterday urged youths to emulate the virtues of the late famous scholar, Prof. Pius Adesanmi.

    Sylva, who described the sudden death of the scholar as shocking and a huge loss to the country said youths should strive to attain the excellence of Adesanmi.

    The former governor spoke in a statement by his Media Aide, Julius Bokoru, after participating in candlelight held in honour of the late professor at the Unity Garden, Abuja.

    Sylva, who is a literary enthusiast said: “This is a huge loss for our country, for Nigeria. Prof. Pius Adesanmi, beyond the excellent Academic, was a necessary voice that constantly refreshed and enriched our national conversations, he prompted us to look inwards and was a national moral meter of sorts’

    “By the Grace of God there will be other Piuses who, just like our dearly departed prof, would blend intellect and genuine will for genuine soceital growth to always stand for what is right”

     

  • 737 Max 8: France accepts to analyse black box as Germany declines

    Ethiopian Airlines said Thursday that the black box flight recorders from the Boeing 737 MAX 8 that crashed with 157 people on board, have been flown to Paris for analysis.

    The airline stated this Twitter message.

    “An Ethiopian delegation led by Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has flown the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) to Paris, France for investigation.”

    This comes just as Germany’s Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) said  it will not analyse the black box from the Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet which crashed soon after taking off from Addis Ababa on Sunday.

    This led to some uncertainty for a couple of hours before the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) announced late on Wednesday that they would analyse the black-box flight recorders.

    The chief executive officer of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam, said  the black boxes from Sunday’s plane crash in Ethiopia would be sent to a “closer country in Europe” rather than the United States for analysis.

    Later on, an airline spokesperson reportedly confirmed that the country in question was Germany. However, just hours later, Germany’s BFU issued a statement reasoning their rejection of the request.

    “This is a new type of aircraft with a new black box, with new software. We can’t do it,” BFU spokesperson Germout Freitag told the media.

    Pilots have reported issues in US with new Boeing arrived in Paris for analysis on Thursday morning. The BEA is one of the world’s most active air crash agencies alongside the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States and has laboratories at its Le Bourget headquarters.

    A spokesman for the BEA said they wouldn’t be announcing the results. “Only the Ethiopian authorities will report on the progress of the investigation. There will be no press conference,” a BEA spokesman told reporters.

    The 737, which first entered service in the late 1960s, is the aviation industry’s best-selling model and Boeing’s top earner. The re-engined Max version has racked up more than 5,000 orders worth in excess of $600 billion.

    When Indonesian carrier Lion Air’s Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed on October 29 in 2018 killing all 189 people on board, Boeing pointed to maintenance issues and human error as the underlying cause, even though the plane’s pilots reportedly had been battling a computerised system that took control following a sensor malfunction. Ethiopian Airlines CEO also said that the pilots had complained about ‘flight control problems’.

    Just over  four months later, the Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10 – killing 157 people – has triggered increasing global pressure on the manufacturer over safety concerns and software issues with the aircraft model. Ethiopian Airlines CEO  said the pilots had complained about ‘flight control problems’.

    The day after the crash, without referring to Ethiopian tragedy directly, Boeing Corporation  said it would deploy a software upgrade to the 737 MAX 8, a few hours after the Federal Aviation Administration said it would mandate “design changes” in the aircraft by April.

     

  • Ethiopian Airlines: victims’ families to visit crash site

    Family members of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people were to visit the site of the accident on Wednesday, an official said.

    Asrat Begashaw, Head of Public Relations at Ethiopian Airlines, said embassy officials from various nations would
    accompany the families on the grim trip to the scene where human remains are still being gathered.

    “What we have collected so far is stored in freezers but there are plans to move them to hospitals. DNA work has not started yet,” Begashaw said.

    Meanwhile, officials have yet to decide where to send the retrieved black box for investigation into why the Boeing 737 MAX 8 went down on Sunday shortly after take-off for Nairobi.

    “There is no decision made yet on where to send it. What we can say is we don’t have the capability to probe it here in Ethiopia,’’ Begashaw said.

    Read Also: Investigators recover flight recorders of Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-8 Max

    The crash, which was the second deadly accident involving that model of Boeing in several months, hit the U.S.
    manufacturer hard – with its share price dropping and much of the world grounding those aircraft or banning it from their skies.

    Boeing has said it is still safe to fly, and the U.S. remains one of few countries that has not temporarily banned the model from its airspace.

    U.S. officials arrived in Ethiopia on Tuesday to help with investigations into the crash, which killed 157 on board.

  • Ethiopian airline: bodies of victims will take days to release

    Families of those killed aboard Ethiopia Airlines flight 302 must wait at least five days to begin receiving some victims’ remains, the company said on Tuesday, though the identification of others is expected to take much longer.

    The Boeing 737 MAX 8 plunged into a field minutes after take-off on Sunday from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people aboard.

    “The process of identifying the victims will take at least five days,” Ethiopian Airlines spokesman Asrat Begashaw told reporters in Addis Ababa on Tuesday.

    “Families will be notified.”

    Due to the impact and ensuing fire, the identification of some remains could take weeks or months and may need to be done via dental records or DNA, an industry expert told Reuters.

    The process will be complicated because the passengers came from over 30 countries and Ethiopia has limited forensic capabilities, the expert added, asking not to be named.

    Noordin Mohamed, a 27-year-old Kenyan businessman, said his family had no information about when they might be able to bury his brother and mother, who is a dual British-Kenyan citizen.

    “We are Muslim and have to bury our deceased immediately. Now we cannot even recover any bodies.

    “Losing a brother and mother in the same day and not having their bodies to bury is very painful,’’ he told Reuters in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

    Kebebew Legesse, the mother of Ethiopian Airlines cabin crew Ayantu Girmay mourns at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town Bishoftu, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Black box recorders recovered on Monday should help piece together the plane’s last moments.

    Ethiopian Airlines’ Begashaw did not comment on where they would be investigated.

    The plane had roared low over the field, spewing white smoke and debris, before swerving sharply and crashing, witnesses at the scene told Reuters.

    A team from the Israeli volunteer rescue service ZAKA was expressing optimism to join the crash site on Tuesday and help identify bodies, said Opher Dach, consul of Israel’s embassy in Ethiopia.

    China grounds Boeing 737 MAX jets after crash

    The 737 line, which has flown for over 50 years, is the world’s best selling modern passenger aircraft.

    The new MAX 8 variant, with bigger engines designed to use less fuel, entered service in 2017 and were intended to become the workhorses for airlines around the globe for decades.

    But the Ethiopia disaster followed another crash involving the same model in Indonesia six months ago.

    The Lion Air plane crashed into the sea shortly after take-off, killing 189 people.

    By Tuesday, civil aviation authorities or airlines had grounded about 40 per cent of the world’s fleet of 737 MAX 8s.

  • Nigerian prof, envoy, 155 others die in Ethiopian Airlines crash

    A Nigerian professor based in Canada, Pius Adesanmi, and former UN and AU Deputy Joint Special Representative in Darfur, Sudan, Ambassador Abiodun Bashua of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were among the 157 persons on board an Ethiopian Airlines plane which crashed yesterday.

    Adesanmi, who was popular on twitter for his consistent interventions on the state of the nation, was teaching at the Carlton University in Canada.

    He was a dual citizen of Nigeria and Canada.

    Ethiopian Airlines Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tewolde Gebremariam told reporters that among the passengers were seven Britons, seven French, eight Italians and 18 Canadians.

    Also on board were 32 Kenyans, nine Ethiopians, eight Americans and eight Chinese.

    The nationalities of the other passengers were yet-to-be disclosed as at the time of filing this report.

    President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed profound shock at the crash on behalf of the government and the people of Nigeria, extending his condolences to the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, the people of Ethiopia, Kenya, Canada, China and all other nations who lost citizens to the disaster.

    The President also commiserated with the families of the victims and prayed God Almighty to grant the souls of the departed eternal rest.

    Reacting to the accident in Daura, Katsina State, the President said: “Such large scale loss of human lives in a single incident is shocking beyond words. I am profoundly touched by this devastating report of air accident involving one of the world’s most successful and efficient airlines, given its remarkable safety record. This couldn’t have come at a worse time for Ethiopian Airlines.”

    President Buhari, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu, said:  ”Like every other African leader, I am proud of the fact that Ethiopian Airlines represents one of Africa’s success stories.”

    The President hoped that the tragic accident will not have a negative effect on Ethiopian Airlines’ passion for excellence.

    There were 147 passengers and eight crew members on board the ill-fated Addis Ababa-Kenya bound flight.

    Officials were said to have retrieved the wreckage of the plane and confirmed the deaths.

    The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 plane on a routine flight to Nairobi, Kenya from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, crashed shortly after take-off.

    “The Office of the PM, on behalf of the Government and people of Ethiopia, would like to express its 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,” the message on the government’s Twitter handle read.

    An Ethiopian Airlines spokesman said the crash occurred at 8:44am local time.