Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (Ethiopia)
Channel: Q&A News
Date: 10/03/2019

On Sunday, March 10, 2019, At approximately 8:44 a.m. local time (5:44 a.m. UTC), Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (Flight ET302 - Boeing 737 Max-8 with the registration number ET-AVJ) which took off at 8:38 a.m. from Addis Ababa via Nairobi, crashed leaving no survivors near to the town of Bishoftu in East Shewa, Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, within minutes the pilot reported that there was a problem & wished to return to Addis Ababa, the aircraft disappeared from radar & crashed at 8:44 a.m., six minutes after leaving Addis Ababa for Nairobi, first word of the crash came when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressed his "deepest condolences."

At least 157 people are known to have died, 149 passengers & eight crew members, there were at least 33 different nationalities on board, it's not yet clear what caused the incident, the crash is the deadliest aircraft accident in Ethiopian Airlines history, surpassing the hijacking & subsequent crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 off Comoros in 1996. 

An eyewitness at the scene said there was an intense fire as the aircraft hit the ground, "The blast & the fire were so strong that we couldn't get near it, everything is burnt down, there are four helicopters at the scene now," photographs of the crash site show a large crater with only small pieces of wreckage, there were no survivors, in a Facebook post entitled "My lucky day," Antonis Mavropoulos said he was "mad" & "screaming" after no-one helped him reach the departure gate before the plane's door closed, he soon learned that the Boeing 737 Max-8 plane had crashed just minutes after taking off from the airport; & explained how the police took him in for questioning for cheating death.

Ethiopian Airlines shared an image & said it showed their CEO Tewolde Gebremariam at the crash site, footage also includes a briefing with him, Ethiopian Airlines, formerly Ethiopian Air Lines & often referred to as simply Ethiopian, is Ethiopia's flag carrier & is wholly owned by the country's government, EAL was founded on 21 December 1945 & commenced operations on 8 April 1946, expanding to international flights in 1951.

Boeing, the company that built the aeroplane, said that it was "closely monitoring the situation," its Boeing 737 Max-8 aircraft is relatively new to the skies, having been launched in 2016, it was added to the Ethiopian Airlines fleet in July last year, another plane of the same model was involved in a crash five months ago, the accident marks the second time in less than a year that a Boeing 737 Max-8 has been involved in an airline disaster, following the crash of Lion Air Flight 610 which crashed into the sea near Indonesia with nearly 190 people on board shortly after take-off from Jakarta, Indonesia, in October 2018.

As of Monday, March 11, 2019, A Chinese search & rescue team arrived at the crash scene of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 near Bishoftu to assist with the investigation, the black box from the crash was recovered, authorities in China, Indonesia & Ethiopia have ordered airlines to ground their Boeing 737 Max-8 planes, the Boeing Company stock has taken a hit as more Boeing 737 Max-8 planes are grounded, the aircraft manufacturer faces further questions over the safety of its Boeing 737 Max-8.

The Boeing Company has made the following statement: "Boeing is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the passengers & crew on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a 737 Max-8 airplane, we extend our heartfelt sympathies to the families & loved ones of the passengers & crew on board & stand ready to support the Ethiopian Airlines team, a Boeing technical team will be travelling to the crash site to provide technical assistance under the direction of the Ethiopia Accident Investigation Bureau & U.S. National Transportation Safety Board."

The investigation to determine the cause for the crash is underway.

Boeing 737 Max-8: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_737_MAX
Boeing Company: https://twitter.com/BoeingAirplanes
Ethiopian Prime Minister: https://twitter.com/PMEthiopia
Ethiopian Airlines: https://twitter.com/flyethiopian
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Airlines_Flight_302
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Airlines_Flight_961
Lion Air Flight 610: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Air_Flight_610
Flight Radar TWN: https://twitter.com/FlightRadar_TWN

"Non-Profit, Educational & Cultural Fair Use & Free Press Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 & CC (Ⓐ)" - Q&A News

Situation updates will be pinned in the comments section, leave a comment, if you appreciate the information; like, share & subscribe: https://youtube.com/c/QANews/featured?&amp;sub_confirmation=1