It is too early to speculate the cause of Ethiopian Airlines plane crash that killed 157 people this morning, says Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde Gebre-Mariam.
He made the comment this afternoon regarding Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed today 10 March 2019 shortly after takeoff en route to Nairobi from Addis Ababa. “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,” he said, upon his return from visiting the scene of the crash.
Mr. Tewolde indicated that the investigation will be undertaken involving the aircraft manufacturer Boeing, Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority and other international entities to maintain the international standard.
“…Information will be provided once the cause is identified. Ethiopian Airlines will provide all the necessary support to the families of the victims,” he said.
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 AhmedNur MohammodNur who had a flight hour of 200.
149 passengers and 8 crew members were on board the flight. The victims were of 35 Nationalities. Kenya and Canada lost many of their nationals in the crashed plane, 32 and 18 lives respectively.
The CEOs comment came following some media reports about the similarity of the model of the crashed Boeing made plane with the Indonesian Lion Air aircraft which crashed last October.
The crashed B-737-800MAX airplane flew back to Addis from Johannesburg this morning to its yet another flight bound to Nairobi underwent a rigorous first check maintenance in 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.
Forensic investigations
Ethiopian Airlines has teamed up with different agencies to conduct forensic investigations and identify the identities of the victims.
“A committee comprising of Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, and Ethiopian Transport Authority has been set up to carry out the investigations. Once the identities of the deceased are identified, their bodies will be delivered to their families and loved ones,” Ethiopian Airlines said in a statement dispatched to the media a few minutes ago.
“Ethiopian Airlines has already contacted the families of the victims to inform them of the tragic accident. Investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the accident, in collaboration with all stakeholders including the aircraft manufacturer Boeing, Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority and other international entities. Ethiopian Airlines will release further information as soon as it is available, through the airline’s website and social media pages,” ET said.