On 10 March, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 (reg. ET-AVJ, MSN 62450) flying from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Nairobi, Kenya, on flight ET302 with 149 passengers and 8 crew members has crashed at 08:44 near the city of Bishoftu, some 62 km southeast of Addis Ababa.
The crew lost contact with the tower a few minutes after takeoff from Bole International Airport at 08:38. Additional data from Flightradar24 ADS-B network show that vertical speed was unstable after takeoff. Ethiopian Airlines says the pilot was cleared to return to Addis Ababa after reporting difficulties.
Search and rescue operations are in progress in order to find the victims. Everyone on board Ethiopian Airlines jet died in the crash, an Ethiopian spokesman said. Victims were from 35 nationalities, including one Belgian lady from Rebecq and a French man living in Brussels.
The Boeing 737 MAX involved had operated its first flight on 30 October 2018 and was delivered to Ethiopian on 15 November. It operated its first commercial flight on 17 November.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed tweeted his “deepest condolences to the families of those that have lost their loved ones“.
Ethiopian Airlines Accident Bulletin no. 1
Issued on March 10, 2019 at 11:00am
Accident to Ethiopian Airlines flight number ET 302
Ethiopian Airlines regrets to confirm that its flight ET 302/10 March in schedule service from Addis Ababa to Nairobi was involved in an accident today 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 08:44 am. 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 centre 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 will release further information as soon as it is available. Updated information will also be on Ethiopian Airlines website at www.ethiopianairlines.com
Ethiopian Airlines Accident Bulletin no. 3
Issued on March 10, 2019 at 5:30 pm
Accident to Ethiopian Airlines flight number ET 302
In a press conference held at Ethiopian Airlines Headquarters this afternoon regarding Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed today 10 March 2019 shortly after takeoff en route to Nairobi from Addis Ababa, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines who had traveled to the scene of the crash remarked, ”It is t o early to speculate the cause of the accident and further investigation will be carried out to find out the cause of the accident in collaboration with all stakeholders including the aircraft manufacturer Boeing, Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority and other international entities to maintain the international standard and information will be provided once the cause is identified.
Ethiopian Airlines will provide all the necessary support to the families of the victims.”
A senior captain named Yared Getachew with a cumulative flight hour of more than 8000 and with a commendable performance was commanding the flight along with first officer Ahmed Nur Mohammod Nur who had a flight hour of 200.
149 passengers and 8 crew members were on board the flight. The victims were of 35 Nationalities.
The crashed B-737-800MAX aeroplane flew back to Addis from Johannesburg this morning to its yet another flight bound to Nairobi underwent a rigorous first check maintenance on February 04, 2019.
Ethiopian Airlines Group expresses its profound sorrow and deepest condolences to the families of the victims and their loved ones on the tragic plane accident.
Ethiopian Airlines will release further information as soon as it is available. Updated information will also be on Ethiopian Airlines website at www.ethiopianairlines.com
Ethiopian Airlines Accident Bulletin no. 5
Issued on March 11, 2019 at 07:08 AM
Following the tragic accident of ET 302/10 March B-737-8 MAX (ET-AVJ), Ethiopian Airlines has decided to ground all B-737-8 MAX fleet effective yesterday March 10, 2019 until further notice.
Although we don’t yet know the cause of the accident, we had to decide to ground the particular fleet as extra safety precaution.
Ethiopian Airlines will release further information as soon as it is available, through the airline’s website and social media pages.
Ethiopian Airlines Accident Bulletin no. 6
Issued on March 11, 2019 at 01:30 PM
Accident to Ethiopian Airlines Flight Number ET 302
After a tedious search by the rescue and investigation team for the black box of a 737- Max 8 plane that crashed near the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa minutes after take-off on Sunday morning, Ethiopian Airlines announces that the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) of ET302 have been recovered. Meanwhile, Ethiopian Airlines Group has suspended the commercial operations of all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft immediately after the tragic accident, while the cause of the crash is assumed to be found from the black box data.
Ethiopian has continued monitoring the situation closely with all stakeholders and is providing all the necessary support to the families of the deceased in its temporarily established family assistance centres in Addis Ababa and Nairobi Airports.
On behalf of @KenyaAirways, we would like to send a message of condolences to all the families of those that have lost their loved ones on flight ET302. To our friends in @flyethiopian: you can count on our full support in this very difficult moment.
— Sebastian Mikosz (@MikoszSebastian) 10 mars 2019
We are following reports that Ethiopian Airlines flight #ET302 to Nairobi has crashed after take off from Addis Ababa.
Our coverage in the area is limited. We tracked the flight for about 3 minutes after take off.https://t.co/MtmnQk9sn4 pic.twitter.com/q7sCfmiCOd
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) 10 mars 2019
Forum discussion: https://www.aviation24.be/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=65657
