- Title: Ethiopian Airlines flight crashes, killing 157
- Date: 10th March 2019
- Summary: NEAR BISHOFTU, ETHIOPIA (MARCH 10, 2019) (REUTERS) PEOPLE GATHERED AT CRASH SCENE, DEBRIS ON GROUND PLANE DEBRIS ON GROUND SHOES AND CLOTHES ON GROUND, PEOPLE STANDING AT CRASH SCENE HELICOPTER ARRIVING AT SCENE, PEOPLE GATHERED AT SCENE OF FLIGHT ET 302 PLANE CRASH
- Embargoed: 24th March 2019 15:43
- Keywords: Ethiopian Airlines crash Nairobi Kenya Ethiopia survivor relatives James Macharia Tewolde GebreMariam
- Location: NEAR BISHOFTU AND ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA / NAIROBI, KENYA / INTERNET
- City: NEAR BISHOFTU AND ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA / NAIROBI, KENYA / INTERNET
- Country: Various
- Topics: Air Accidents,Disaster/Accidents
- Reuters ID: LVA001A5FTM4N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A HIGHLIGHTS WRAP OF MATERIAL THAT HAS ALREADY MOVED. IT DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY FRESH MATERIAL
An Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet bound for Nairobi crashed minutes after take-off on Sunday (March 10), killing all 157 people on board and raising questions about the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX 8, a new model that also crashed in Indonesia in October.
Sunday's flight left Bole airport in Addis Ababa at 8:38 a.m. (0538 GMT), before losing contact with the control tower just a few minutes later at 8:44 a.m.
Flight ET 302, registration number ET-AVJ, crashed near the town of Bishoftu, 62 km (38 miles) southeast of the capital Addis Ababa with 149 passengers and eight crew aboard, the airline said.
The aircraft shattered into many pieces and was severely burnt, a Reuters reporter at the crash scene said. Clothing and personal effects were scattered widely over the field where the plane came down.
The flight had unstable vertical speed after take off, the flight tracking website Flightradar24 tweeted.
At airports in Addis Ababa and Nairobi, many relatives were left waiting at the gate for hours, with no information from airport authorities. Some learned of the crash from journalists.
James Macharia, Kenya's cabinet secretary for transport, confirmed passengers from more than 30 countries were aboard including Kenyan, Ethiopian, American, Canadian, French, Chinese, Egyptian, Swedish, British, Dutch, Indian, Slovakian, Austrian, Swedish, Russian, Moroccan, Spanish, Polish, and Israeli citizens.
Ethiopian is one of the biggest carriers on the continent by fleet size. The plane was among six of 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets the rapidly expanding carrier has ordered. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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