Home Business NewsBusinessAviation News Ethiopian Airlines plane crashes with 157 people on board

Ethiopian Airlines plane crashes with 157 people on board

by Sarah Dunsby
10th Mar 19 10:03 am

An Ethiopian Airlines plane has crashed on its way to Nairobi, Kenya carrying 149 passengers and eight crew people on board.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 was on a regular scheduled flight when it crashed six minutes after taking off from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Flight ET 302 crashed near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, the airline confirmed a search and rescue operations are in progress.

In a statement Ethiopian Airlines said, “At this time search and rescue operations are in progress and we have no confirmed information about survivors or any possible causalities.

“Ethiopian Airlines staff will be sent to the accident scene and will do everything possible to assist the emergency services.”

The airline posted on Twitter:

The office of the prime minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed posted on Twitter:

Air traffic control at Addis Ababa airport, lost contact with flight ET 302 at 8:44am this morning.

Ethiopian Airlines is the largest carrier in Africa with a good safety record and is a Star Alliance member, the airline is government owned.

Most of the Ethiopian’s aircraft are new, the Boeing 737 is brand new and took its first flight end of October 2018.

In 2010 an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed in to the Mediterranean Sea shortly after taking off from Beirut International Airport in Lebanon, killing 90 people.

In November 1996 the airline crashed during a hijacking, on a flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi after an engine stopped when the fuel ran out.

The hijacked plane attempted an emergency landing on water, the plane hit a coral reef in the Indian Ocean and 123 of the 175 passengers were killed.

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