90 feared dead as Ethiopian Airlines 737 crashes into Med

Date added: 25 January, 2010

An Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying 90 people crashed into the Mediterranean
Sea in flames early today just minutes after takeoff from Beirut, authorities
said. At least 12 bodies were recovered as rescuers searched the stormy waters.

The plane was carrying 90 people, including 83 passengers and 7 crew. Aridi identified
the passengers as 54 Lebanese, 22 Ethiopians, one Iraqi, one Syrian, one Canadian
of Lebanese origin, one Russian of Lebanese origin, a French woman and two Britons
of Lebanese origin. Among them was the wife of the French ambassador in Beirut.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Lebanon has been hit by bad
weather, with crackling thunder, lightning and pouring rain.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said terrorism was not suspected.

“Sabotage is ruled out as of now,” he said.

The Boeing 737-800 took off around 2:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. EST) for the Ethiopian
capital Addis Ababa, said Ghazi Aridi, the public works and transportation minister.

“The weather undoubtedly was very bad,” Aridi told reporters at the airport.
He added that the plane went down about 2 miles (3.5 kilometers) off the Lebanese
coast.

The Lebanese army said in a statement the plane was “on fire shortly after takeoff.”

The wife of Denis Pietton, the French ambassador to Lebanon, was on the plane,
according to the French embassy.

Helicopters and naval ships were scrambled for a rescue effort as huge waves
slammed into the shore and rain lashed the coast.

A police spokeswoman in Cyprus, which sent rescue crews to the area, said about
12 bodies have been recovered so far and airplane debris was found.

Ethiopian Airlines’ CEO Girma Wake told journalists in Addis Ababa that he had
no information on the fate of those on board or about the cause of the crash.
He said the aircraft had been serviced on Dec. 25 and passed inspection.

He also said the plane had been leased in September from CIT Aerospace. Calls
to CIT Aerospace were not immediately returned Monday.

Relatives of the passengers began arriving at the airport in Beirut early Monday,
many of them crying and hugging. Officials led them into a VIP area. Lebanese
Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced a day of mourning and closed schools and
government offices.

The plane was carrying 90 people, including 83 passengers and 7 crew. Aridi,
the transportation minister, identified the passengers as 54 Lebanese, 22 Ethiopians,
one Iraqi, one Syrian, one Canadian of Lebanese origin, one Russian of Lebanese
origin, a French woman and two Britons of Lebanese origin.

Ethiopian Airlines reported that there were 82 passengers and eight crew; the
discrepancy could not immediately be explained.

The Boeing 737 is considered one of the safest planes in airline service. The
jet was first introduced in the 1960s, and today is the workhorse on many short-
and medium-range routes.

Still, over the past 15 years it was involved in a series of incidents and crashes
linked to a valve in the rudder assembly. This reportedly would malfunction and
cause the rudder to turn independently of the pilot’s commands.

The problem was considered resolved after operators of older Boeing 737s were
ordered to carry out inspections and upgrades of the critical rudder control systems.

Ethiopian Airlines has long had a reputation for high-quality service compared
to other African airlines, with two notable crashes in more than 20 years.

A hijacked Ethiopian Airlines jet crash-landed off the Comoros Islands in the
Indian Ocean when it ran out of fuel in November 1996, killing 126 of the 175
people aboard.   The plane had just left Addis Ababa when three hijackers stormed
the cockpit and demanded to be taken to Australia.

Posted: Monday, January 25th, 2010. Filed in General News.