Following the crash of Ethiopian Airlines plane leading to the death of 157 people from 35 countries, Ethiopia parliament has declared tomorrow March 11 to be a national mourning day.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, who visited the accident site, expressed his condolence condolences to the people who lost their family members. The Boeing 737 Max 8 plane was heading to Nairobi, Kenya from Addis Ababa this morning carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew members when it crashed six minutes later around Bishoftu some 45 kilometers from the capital, Addis Ababa.
Not very far from where ET’s Boeing 767 Max-800 has crashed today, at the end of August 2018 a Russian-made Ethiopian Air force helicopter has crashed leading to the death of 17 people. The chopper was coming from Dire Dawa, Eastern part of Ethiopia to Bishoftu, whe
re the Ethiopian Air force base is also found.
“My sincere condolences to the families and friends of the Ethiopian Airlines flight’s victims, among which several French citizens. We share their sorrow. France stands by the people of Ethiopia and Kenya, and expresses its full solidarity,” twitted President of France Emmauel Macron.
The crashed plane Boeing 737 Max 800 has arrived 4 months ago from Boeing Company of the United States and all the maintenance check has been done properly. He also indicated that both the capital and the first officers were experienced pilots, according to Mr. Tewolde Gebre-Mariam, CEO of Ethiopia Airlines Group.
The UN has also indicated that it has lost numerous of its staff by today’s plane crash.
“As the UN family, we are deeply saddened by all the lives lost in this tragedy. We have lost numerous members of staff from UN agencies…Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, close friends and colleagues of the victims of this crash” said Ms. Vera Songwe, chief of UN Economic Commission for Africa.
Currently Ethiopian Airlines has five Boeing 767 Max-800. Mr. Tewolde told the state broadcaster – ETV this evening that based on the International Civil Aviation Organization’s procedures of investigation, the country where the plane is registered, the manufacturing country of the plane and the country where the plane has crushed will work on the investigation of such plane crashes.
He noted that in the case of today’s Ethiopian plane crash, the investigation will be undertaken by American and Ethiopian governments.
With over 16,000 employees Ethiopian Airlines has been one of the fastest growing airlines in Africa. Currently with 300 daily flights, Ethiopian Airlines has a few plane crash records in its 70 years aviation history.