The House of People’s Representatives declared Monday, March 11, 2019, a day of national mourning following the tragic crash of flight ET302 yesterday.
A total of 157 people on board were killed when the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 on a regular scheduled flight to Nairobi, Kenya crashed around Bishoftu, 47km away from the capital Addis Ababa on Sunday.
The aircraft B-737-800MAX with registration number ET- AVJ took off at 08:38 am local time from Addis Ababa, Bole International Airport and lost contact at 08:44 am.
B-737-800Max aircraft is new to the skies and been launched in 2016. Ethiopian received the aircraft in November last year.
Four months ago another brand new 737-800 MAX (Lion Air) had crashed in Indonesia.
In a televised statement yesterday, Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed expressed his condolences to the families of passengers and crew members who were on board ET 302.
The Prime Minister assured that technical experts would investigate the cause of the accident and communicated promptly to the public as updates come in.
He also shared his appreciation to the management and board members of Ethiopian Airlines for their efforts throughout the day.
It was the second crash in five months involving a 737 Max 8, and comparisons are being drawn with a Lion Air accident in Indonesia last October.
In response, China’s civilian aviation authority, Ethiopian Airlines, and Caribbean carrier Cayman Airway have now grounded all planes of the same model. However, experts warn it is too early to say what caused the latest disaster.
