Adejumoke Adenugba

My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives in the ill-fated Ethiopian Airline Plane crash.

On March 10 2019, the world was hit by the news that a passenger aircraft operated by Africa’s top national carrier had crashed. It was Ethiopian’s deadliest incident when a Boeing 737 MAX 8, barely four months old, crashed shortly after takeoff en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi; all 157 people on board perished. 

The reference point for the information was solely the office of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. It remained the most quoted source for hours before the flier, Ethiopian Airlines, confirmed with further details of the said incident.

A memorial service was held today (March 17) for victims of the March 10 crash that claimed 157 passengers. Family, friends and other mourners converged for the burial ceremony of the crash victims at the Holy Trinity Cathedral Orthodox church in Addis Ababa.

Technical investigations into the cause of the accident is currently underway in France. Data from the black boxes have been downloaded and a team of European experts are supposed to work on them.

New evidence showed similarities between the Ethiopia crash and that of a Lion Air flight in Indonesia in October that killed 189 people. Both planes were Boeing 737 MAX 8s, and both crashed minutes after take-off after pilots reported flight control problems. The pilot, who had been working for the carrier since 2010, sent out a distress call shortly after take-off and was given clearance to return.

According to the flight data recorder, the pilots of Lion Air Flight 610 struggled to control the aircraft as the MCAS repeatedly pushed the nose down following takeoff. The Ethiopian Airlines pilots reported similar difficulties before their aircraft plunged to the ground. Concern over the plane’s safety caused aviation authorities worldwide to ground the model, wiping billions of dollars off Boeing’s market value.

Investigators are trying to determine why the aircraft plunged into a field shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, searching for possible similarities to an October Lion Air crash that killed 189 people. Under international rules, a preliminary report on the crash must be released within 30 days.

Previous accident reports show that in such high-profile cases there can be disagreements among parties about the cause.

Is it truly a Boeing 737 Max issue or pilots were not trained on the use of MCAS or airports in other countries were not availed the opportunity?