Several dozen investigators remain on the scene. Ingrid Formanek The crash site is still being combed for identification, debris and remains on Tuesday. Forensic investigators and Ethiopian Airlines employees are preparing to slowly walk through the site to search for evidence that has gone unnoticed, raising their hands when they come across anything significant. Several dozen workers from multiple teams are on site, with most wearing surgical masks and some in white forensic suits. Debris from the Boeing 737 jet has been broken into hundreds of small pieces, making the task of recovering each part complex. The largest engine piece on the site was around the size of a small table. The plane went down in a remote area about a two hours' drive from Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Fields of maze and teff - a staple grass native to Ethiopia - surround the site, where no electricity and very little water is available. But residents of local villages continue to travel to the scene. Around 200 surround the perimeter today, which is guarded by federal police and a militia.<doc-sep>An Ethiopian Airlines jet faltered and crashed Sunday shortly after takeoff, carving a gash in the earth and spreading global grief to 35 countries that had someone among the 157 people who were killed. There was no immediate indication why the plane went down in clear weather while on a flight to Nairobi, the capital of neighbouring Kenya. The crash was strikingly similar to that of a Lion Air jet in Indonesian seas last year, killing 189 people. Both accidents involved the Boeing 737 Max 8, and China ordered a temporarily grounding of those planes for Chinese airlines Monday. The crash shattered more than two years of relative calm in African skies, where travel had long been chaotic. It also was a serious blow to state-owned Ethiopian Airlines, which has expanded to become the continent's largest and best-managed carrier and turned Addis Ababa into the gateway to Africa. "Ethiopian Airlines is one of the safest airlines in the world. At this stage we cannot rule out anything," CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told reporters. He visited the crash site, standing in the gaping crater flecked with debris. Black body bags were spread out nearby while Red Cross and other workers looked for remains. As the sun set, the airline's chief operating officer said the plane's flight data recorder had not yet been found. Around the world, families were gripped by grief. At the Addis Ababa airport, a woman called a mobile number in vain. "Where are you, my son?" she said, in tears. Others cried as they approached the terminal. Henom Esayas, whose sister's Nigerian husband was killed, told The Associated Press they were startled when a stranger picked up their frantic calls to his mobile phone, told them he had found it in the debris and promptly switched it off. Shocked leaders of the United Nations, the UN refugee agency and the World Food Program announced that colleagues had been on the plane. The UN migration agency estimated some 19 UN-affiliated employees were killed. Both Addis Ababa and Nairobi are major hubs for humanitarian workers, and many people were on their way to a large UN environmental conference set to begin Monday in Nairobi. The Addis Ababa-Nairobi route links East Africa's two largest economic powers. Sunburned travellers and tour groups crowd the Addis Ababa airport's waiting areas, along with businessmen from China, Gulf nations and elsewhere. A list of the dead released by Ethiopian Airlines included passengers from China, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Israel, India and Somalia. Kenya lost 32 citizens. Canada, 18. Several countries including the United States lost four or more people. Ethiopian officials declared Monday a day of mourning. At the Nairobi airport, hopes quickly dimmed for loved ones. "I just pray that he is safe or he was not on it," said Agnes Muilu, who had come to pick up her brother. The crash is likely to renew questions about the 737 Max, the newest version of Boeing's popular single-aisle airliner, which was first introduced in 1967 and has become the world's most common passenger jet. China's civil aviation authority on Monday ordered Chinese airlines to ground their 737 Max 8 aircraft for safety reasons and said it would consult with Boeing and others further. Indonesian investigators have not determined a cause for the October crash, but days after the accident Boeing sent a notice to airlines that faulty information from a sensor could cause the plane to automatically point the nose down. The Lion Air cockpit data recorder showed that the jet's airspeed indicator had malfunctioned on its last four flights, though the airline initially said problems had been fixed. Safety experts cautioned against drawing too many comparisons between the two crashes until more is known about Sunday's disaster. The Ethiopian Airlines CEO "stated there were no defects prior to the flight, so it is hard to see any parallels with the Lion Air crash yet," said Harro Ranter, founder of the Aviation Safety Network, which compiles information about accidents worldwide. The Ethiopian plane was new, delivered to the airline in November. The Boeing 737 Max 8 was one of 30 meant for the airline, Boeing said in July. The jet's last maintenance was on Feb. 4, and it had flown just 1,200 hours. The plane crashed six minutes after departure, plowing into the ground at Hejere near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, some 50 kilometres (31 miles) outside Addis Ababa, at 8:44 a.m. The jet showed unstable vertical speed after takeoff, air traffic monitor Flightradar 24 said. The senior Ethiopian pilot, who joined the airline in 2010, sent out a distress call and was given clearance to return to the airport, the airline's CEO told reporters. In the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration said it would join the National Transportation Safety Board in assisting Ethiopian authorities with the crash investigation. Boeing planned to send a technical team to Ethiopia. The last deadly crash of an Ethiopian Airlines passenger flight was in 2010, when a plane went down minutes after takeoff from Beirut, killing all 90 people on board. African air travel has improved in recent years, with the International Air Transport Association in November noting "two years free of any fatalities on any aircraft type." Sunday's crash comes as the country's reformist young prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, has vowed to open up the airline and other sectors to foreign investment in a major transformation of the state-centred economy. Speaking at the inauguration in January of a new passenger terminal in Addis Ababa to triple capacity, the prime minister challenged the airline to build a new "Airport City" terminal in Bishoftu -- where Sunday's crash occurred. ------ Yidnek Kirubel reported from Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Accident Bulletin no. 1 Issued on march 10, 2019 at 11:00am Ethiopian Airlines will release further information as soon as it is available. Updated information will also be on Ethiopian Airlines website at https://t.co/Je7pXoKxHh pic.twitter.com/07wKZHPVPl — Ethiopian Airlines (@flyethiopian) March 10, 2019 Accident Bulletin no. 2 Issued on march 10, 2019 at 01:46 PM pic.twitter.com/KFKX6h2mxJ — Ethiopian Airlines (@flyethiopian) March 10, 2019 Accident Bulletin no. 3 Issued on March 10, 2019 at 4:59 PM pic.twitter.com/5UOxsbl24f — Ethiopian Airlines (@flyethiopian) March 10, 2019 Accident Bulletin no. 4 Issued on March 10, 2019 at 06:20 PM pic.twitter.com/685uGE6izJ — Ethiopian Airlines (@flyethiopian) March 10, 2019 Devastating news from Ethiopia this morning. Our thoughts are with all the victims on flight ET302, including the Canadians who were on board, and everyone who lost friends, family, or loved ones. Canadians in need of assistance, contact sos@international.gc.ca or 613-996-8885. — Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) March 10, 2019 Devastated by the news of the Ethiopian Airlines crash. On behalf of Canada’s Conservatives and my family, I extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones of those lost, especially the families of the Canadians killed. May their memories be a blessing. — Andrew Scheer (@AndrewScheer) March 10, 2019 Canadians who know of any friends or relatives on board Ethiopian Airlines Flight #ET302 should call us collect at +1 613- 996-8885 or email us at sos@international.gc.ca — travel.gc.ca (@TravelGoC) March 10, 2019<doc-sep>
The crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 on Sunday (March 10), which killed all 157 people on board, is the second deadly incident in less than six months involving Boeing’s 737 Max series, an aircraft seen as a game-changer for the short-haul industry. In October 2018, a Lion Air flight departing from Jakarta crashed 13 minutes after takeoff, killing all 189 on board. The crash investigation first looked at malfunctioning sensors on the aircraft, and then turned to the role of a new anti-stall mechanism in the 737 Max 8 and 9 series planes. Soon after the Lion Air accident, the US Federal Aviation Authority issued an emergency directive ordering that flight manuals be updated with a procedure for how to stabilize an aircraft when the anti-stall mechanism, which responds to information from the plane’s “angle-of-attack” sensors, kicks in. The mechanism can sharply and suddenly point the plane’s nose downward. Boeing also directed airlines to a checklist to follow if the plane responds to erroneous angle-of-attack information. The most recent crash occurred just minutes into a roughly two-hour flight from Bole International Airport in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa to Nairobi, Kenya, after takeoff at 8:38 am local time. Investigators are examining wreckage around the town of Bishoftu, some 60 km (37 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Group Airlines CEO Tewolde GebreMariam, who visited the crash site and expressed his deep regret over the accident, said at a press conference that the pilot of the flight had an excellent flying record and had requested to turn back before going off the radar. Boeing has said it is “deeply saddened” to hear of the deaths on ET 302 and is ready to support Ethiopian Airlines, and to offer technical assistance under the direction of the US National Transportation Safety Board. Few additional details are yet available about what happened on ET302 after take-off. Flightradar24, a Sweden-based flight-tracking platform, has said that the aircraft’s vertical speed was unstable. A preliminary report from Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee in November did not assign responsibility for the Lion Air crash, but described the man-vs-machine battle that the pilot, an Indian national, and his co-pilot, an Indonesian national, faced against the flight system. The cockpit, without indicating an emergency, reportedly requested that the flight turn back to Jakarta but air-traffic controllers lost contact with the plane shortly thereafter. A more comprehensive report is expected in October or November this year. Airline unions said after the Lion Air crash that pilots were not aware of the new anti-stall mechanism until that incident, and that they didn’t receive specific training for it. Boeing has said the steps required to stabilize the aircraft are part of pilot training. Pilots and safety experts have noted there are a number of steps to be followed, against the backdrop of a noisy anti-stall warning that rattles loudly. The anti-stall mechanism can begin functioning at a fairly low altitude, and can be set off by erroneous signals form a single sensor. The Max 8 and 9 series planes began to be inducted into fleets two years ago. Boeing and regulators have been looking at the possibility of a software update to alter how the Max’s anti-stall mechanism works, but this has not happened yet (paywall). Boeing is facing several lawsuits in the wake of the Lion Air crash, including one brought by the family of the Indonesian co-pilot, and another on behalf of families of 17 victims of that crash. —Abdi Latif Dahir contributed to this article