One Nigerian On Board Crashed Ethiopian Flight ET302 | Nairalaw

*Experts raise concerns over Aircraft type

A Nigerian, yet unidentified, is one of the 157 victims of the
ill-fated Ethiopia Airlines ET302, operated by Boeing B737-800MAX,
which crashed early Sunday morning on its way from Addis Ababa to
Nairobi.

Ethiopia Airlines Group CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam, who arrived
the site of the crash few hours after the accident at Bishoftu, 62
kilometres southeast of the capital Addis Ababa, confirmed there
were no survivors and expressed his profound sympathy and
condolences to the families and loved ones of passengers and crew
who lost lives in the tragic incident.

The flight had 149 passengers; eight crew on board and the
passengers have been traced to about 35 countries.

Gebremariam said pilots reported difficulties and asked for
permission to turn back to Addis Ababa, but indications show that
the flight crew could not make the air return, hence the crash.

The flight left Bole airport in Addis Ababa at 8. 38am (about
10.38 am Nigerian time), before losing contact with the control
tower just a few minutes later at 8.44am.

Nationalities onboard include Kenyan 32, Canadians 18,
Ethiopians 9, USA 8, Chinese 8, Nigerian 1, seven British citizens,
seven France, six Egyptians, five Netherlands, four passengers
carrying UN passports and four Indians.

Other passengers are from Russia, Morocco, Israel, Uganda,
Yemen, Sudan, Togo, Mozambique, and Norway.

Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, tweeted, ” I 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.”

In a press conference held at Ethiopian Airlines Headquarters
Sunday afternoon regarding the crash, Gebremaria, remarked, “It is
too 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.”

It was disclosed at the conference that 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 eight crew members were on board the flight. The
victims were of 35 Nationalities.

The crashed B-737-800MAX airplane flew back to Addis from
Johannesburg early Sunday morning to its yet another flight bound
to Nairobi underwent rigorous first check maintenance, the airline
said.

This is the second fatal accident involving Boeing 737MAX in
less than five months, but the two should be linked just yet.

About six months ago, a Lion Air Flight 610 operated by Boeing
737 MAX passenger plane with 189 people on board crashed into the
sea shortly after taking off from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta
on October 29, 2018.

The flight was a scheduled domestic flight operated by the
Indonesian airline Lion Air from Soekarno–Hatta International
Airport in Jakarta to Depati Amir Airport in Pangkal Pinang. On 29
October 2018, the brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating the route
crashed into the Java Sea 12 minutes after takeoff.

All 189 passengers and crew were killed in the accident.[5] It
became the second deadliest airplane accident in Indonesia, only
behind Garuda Indonesia Flight 152.

According to reports, this was the first major accident
involving the 737 MAX and the deadliest involving a 737 aircraft
surpassing Air India Express Flight 812 in 2010. It is also the
worst accident for Lion Air in its 18-year history, surpassing the
previous crash in Surakarta that killed 25.

Also speaking on Sunday morning to Al Jazeera from Malaga,
Spain, aviation analyst, , Alex Macheras, explained that the B737
MAX is the brand new updated version of the Boeing 737.

“The MAX is in service all around the world. Airlines such as
the Ethiopian Airlines are using this aircraft, as it is the
latest, the most fuel-efficient, short-range Boeing aircraft on the
market.

“The aircraft that has been involved in the accident today is
less than four months old. It was delivered to Ethiopia in
mid-November, when it flew from the US, made a fuel stop in
Ireland, and was delivered to Addis Ababa, which is the hub of
Ethiopian Airlines,” he added.

Macheras said new aircraft “do have their hiccups” but that is
not to say they are unsafe or more prone to being involved in
accidents.

“There are certain advisories for lots of new aircraft and
that’s perfectly normal as they enter the market place,” he
added.

The Boeing 737 MAX was initiated in response to Airbus’s A320
Neo. Both planes feature modifications to make the aircraft more
fuel-efficient.

“It’s a very safe aircraft,” Macheras said, “but of course this
accident will send jitters across the industry.”