Search teams sweep sea
bottom for Ethiopia jet black boxes
BEIRUT,
Jan. 29, 2010 (AFP) — Search teams on Friday swept the
bottom of the Mediterranean sea off the coast of Beirut
looking for the black boxes of an Ethiopian airliner which
crashed with all 90 people on board presumed dead.
"We are still looking. We have combed
two-thirds of the area," Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi told
AFP.
Search teams on Wednesday picked up the
signals of the black boxes from the Boeing 737-800 which
crashed two days earlier and have been trying since to
determine their exact location.
Information Minister Tarek Mitri has
said that the flight data and cockpit voice recorders are
thought to be located about 14 kilometres (nine miles) off
the coast, south of the airport, at a depth of 1,500 metres
(4,920 feet).
The Ocean Alert, a privately-operated
US vessel, has been sweeping the area in which the signals
had been picked up. It is equipped to reach objects 2,000
metres (6,561 feet) deep.
Once the boxes are retrieved, they will
be sent to a decoding centre overseas, possibly in France,
sources close to the investigation told AFP.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, bound
for Addis Ababa, crashed into the Mediterranean minutes
after takeoff from Beirut during a raging thunderstorm on
Monday.
All 83 passengers and seven crew are
presumed dead. Only 14 bodies, including those of two
toddlers, and body parts have been found so far.
Rescue officials have said a number of
the victims may still be strapped to their seats underwater.
There were conflicting reports as to
whether the jet exploded while airborne or after it had hit
the water, and officials have said there will be no answers
until the data from the black boxes is retrieved and
analysed.
Officials want to know
why the plane veered off course after takeoff, but have
ruled out sabotage.
____
Ethiopian plane
makes emergency landing in Chad N'Djamena, Jan. 28, 2010 [AFP] An Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet en
route from Dakar in Senegal to Addis Ababa
made
an emergency landing Thursday in Chad due to a radar problem, airport
authorities said.
The incident comes days after another Ethiopian Airlines 737 with 90 people on
board crashed into the Mediterranean minutes after takeoff from Beirut during a
raging thunderstorm on Monday.
The Boeing 737, carrying 150 passengers, "circled around N'Djamena for one hour
before making an emergency call. There was a radar problem, so it landed," an
airport official said.
An airport source said the plane, which had made a stopover in Bamako, Mali,
dumped its fuel before landing.
The same plane had already experienced electrical troubles when leaving Dakar
earlier Thursday , and had had to return, passengers said.
------
Updates on
Flight ET409
Ethiopian families mourn plane crash victims
January 28, 2010 [NTDTV]
Ethiopian families mourned the death of loved ones who
were among 90 people aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane.
It is believed that no one survived the horrific crash
after the plane plunged into the Mediterranean, shortly
after takeoff in Beirut.
A DJ at a local radio station lost his wife in the crash
and is now left with their children. He was comforted by
friends and relatives as he anxiously waited for
information.
Giouanni Francioni, a relative of the plane crash
victim sqaid: "There is nothing, we have not heard
anything, whether they have found her body or not. No
one is giving us information; even the airline isn't
saying anything. So now we are just sitting and
waiting."
A team of investigators from Ethiopia, including
Ethiopian Airlines officials, are in Beirut. Boeing said
it was coordinating with the U.S. National
Transportation Safety Board to assist Lebanese
authorities in the inquiry.
Lebanese and international search teams scoured the
Mediterranean coast for the victims and missing flight
recorders. But hopes of finding any survivors have
faded.
Flight ET409 was carrying mostly Lebanese and Ethiopian
passengers. It was headed to the Ethiopian capital Addis
Ababa before it apparently broke up in the air and
crashed into the sea during a pre-dawn thunderstorm on
Monday.
--
Black box located from Ethiopian plane crash
BEIRUT,
Jan 28, 2010 (AP)
A U.S. Navy vessel has detected
the flight recorders from a
crashed Ethiopian Airlines jet
at some 4,265 feet under the
sea, the Lebanese army said
Thursday.
The plane went down early Monday
just minutes after takeoff from
Beirut in a fierce storm. All 90
people on board were feared
dead.
It could take days to retrieve
the plane's flight recorders,
which were located late
Wednesday. The Lebanese army
said in a statement that the USS
Ramage and a civilian ship from
Cyprus were scanning the area.
Walid Noshie, a prominent
Lebanese diver who is helping
the search, said the priority is
to find the people on the plane,
and then the black boxes.
Noshie said crews were using
sophisticated equipment,
including an underwater torpedo
to scan the water and
sonar-equipped cables that
stretch almost 2 miles.
He said the
black boxes
might not be
retrieved
until Friday
or later.
Rescue teams
have
recovered
some bodies
and pieces
of the
plane, but
hope for
finding any
survivors
has faded.
There are
conflicting
numbers of
how many
bodies have
been found,
although at
least a
dozen have
been pulled
out of the
chilly
waters of
the
Mediterranean
Sea.
Significant lightening bolt sighted in Ethiopian
crash
State
College, Pa. -- 27 January 2010 -- Weather experts reported frequent lightning
was in the area of Monday morning's Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crash into the
Mediterranean Sea, according to data compiled by AccuWeather.com.
"A significant bolt was detected at 2:37 a.m., local time, 10 miles South of the
Beirut Airport and 2.5 miles west of the coastal town of Na'ameh," said
AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity.
There were rain showers accompanied by a considerable amount of thunder and wind
in the vicinity of Beirut at the time of the crash. Such weather is very
conducive to lightning strikes.
"Turbulent weather, such as the thunderstorms that were in the area during the
time of the crash, allows the separation of charges, which causes lightning to
occur," said AccuWeather.com meteorologist Mike Pigott.
The strike was in line with the runway, and occurred shortly after the plane
left Beirut at 2:30 a.m.
It appears that this bolt was directly in the flight path of the plane, which
was headed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Boeing 737-800 had approximately 90 people aboard. Several bodies have been
recovered, and no survivors have been reported.
Lebanon's Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi told the Associated Press that the
pilot made "a very fast and strange turn before disappearing completely from the
radar." It is unclear as to why that happened, but officials have ruled out
terrorism.
According to the World Wide Lightning Location Network out of the University of
Washington, data showed severe lightning in the Lebanon area hours within the
time of the crash.
"Eight WWLLN sensors detected this particular stroke, which indicates the stroke
was stronger than average," said Professor Robert Holzworth, Director of the
World Wide Lightning Location Network.
A relative of one of the passengers commented that the plane should have been
delayed at take off due to bad weather.
"They should have delayed the flight for an hour or two to protect the
passengers. There had been strong lightning bolts and we hear that lightning
strikes planes especially during take offs."
Commercial jets are equipped with special lightning protection, including
aircraft skins made of electricity-conducive aluminum, Fuel tanks and any piping
carrying fuel are also protected by a skin that is thick enough to withstand
sparking.
According to the Scientific American, it is estimated that each airplane in the
U.S. commercial fleet is stuck by lightning more than once each year.
Story by AccuWeather.com's Carly Porter and Gina Cherundolo, with content
contributed by Professor Robert Holzworth, Director of the World Wide Lightning
Location Network. http://wwlln.net. ....
Ethiopian plane veered off
course before crash
January
26, 2010, Beirut (AP) Ethiopian Airlines plane veered off course before sea
crash. Lebanese
minister says the plane that went down in storm, killing 90, suddenly turned in
opposite direction from suggested path The pilot of an Ethiopian Airlines
plane that crashed into the sea flew in the opposite direction from the path
recommended by the control tower after taking off from Beirut in a storm,
Lebanon's transport minister said today.
All 90 people on board were killed when the plane went down in flames minutes
after takeoff at around 2:30am yesterday, during a night of lightning and
thunderstorms.
The minister, Ghazi Aridi, said the pilot initially followed the tower's
guidance, but then abruptly changed course and went in the opposite direction.
"They asked him to correct his path but he did a very fast and strange turn
before disappearing completely from the radar," Aridi said.
It was not immediately clear why the pilot veered off the recommended path. Like
most other airliners, the Boeing 737 is equipped with its own weather radar,
which the pilot may have used rather than following the flight tower's
recommendation.
"Nobody is saying the pilot is to blame for not heeding orders," Aridi said,
adding: "There could have been many reasons for what happened … Only the black
box can tell."
Lebanese officials have ruled out terrorism or sabotage on the flight, which was
bound for the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
No survivors had been found more than 24 hours after the crash. Emergency
workers have pulled bodies from the sea.
Searchers were trying to find the plane's flight data recorder, which is
critical to determining the cause of the crash.
Rescue teams and equipment sent from the UN and countries including the US and
Cyprus were helping in the search.
Pieces of the plane and other debris were washing ashore, and emergency crews
pulled a large piece of the plane, about a metre long, from the water. A crew
member, Safi Sultaneh, identified it as a piece of wing.
The Lebanese army and witnesses say the plane was on fire shortly after takeoff.
A defence official also said some witnesses reported that the plane broke up
into three pieces.
At the Government hospital in Beirut, Red Cross workers brought in bodies
covered with wool blankets as relatives gathered nearby. Marla Pietton, wife of
the French ambassador to Lebanon, was among those on board, according to the
French embassy.
------
Bodies discovered after plane
crash
January
25, 2010, BEIRUT [AFP]: An Ethiopian aircraft carrying 90 people plunged into
the sea off Lebanon in a ball of fire yesterday. There was no sign of survivors,
officials said.
Helicopters and navy vessels rushed to the crash site. At least 34 bodies were
recovered from the stormy waters.
The Lebanese President, Michel Sleiman, ruled out foul play, but the cause of
the crash was not immediately known.
A Defence Ministry official said the Boeing 737 exploded before crashing shortly
after take-off. Investigators were trying to determine whether lightning had hit
the aircraft.
Bad weather has plagued Lebanon since Sunday night, with crackling thunder,
lightning and pouring rain.
The Transport Minister, Ghazi Aridi, said Ethiopian Airlines flight 409 lost
contact with the control tower soon after taking off and crashed into the
Mediterranean Sea off Naameh, south of Beirut.
The Boeing 737-800 took off about 2.30am local time for the Ethiopian capital,
Addis Ababa, Mr Aridi said. ''The weather undoubtedly was very bad.''
The Lebanese Army said the aircraft was ''on fire shortly after take-off'', and
witnesses reported seeing a ball of fire as it plunged into the sea.
''It was like the whole sea lit up,'' one witness said.
A police spokeswoman in Cyprus, which sent rescue crews to the area, said
aircraft debris had been found.
A correspondent for Agence France-Presse saw eight aircraft seats that had
washed up on shore south of the airport.
Officials listed 83 passengers and seven crew as having been on board the
flight.
Mr Aridi said the passengers included 54 Lebanese, 22 Ethiopians, one Iraqi, one
French woman, one Syrian and seven crew members. There were also several dual
nationals, including one British-Lebanese, one Canadian-Lebanese and a
Russian-Lebanese.
Among those on board was Marla Sanchez Pietton, the wife of the French
ambassador to Lebanon, Denis Pietton, the French embassy said.
Relatives of the passengers were huddled in the VIP lounge of Beirut
International Airport, some weeping, while awaiting news of their loved ones.
Some fainted and were carried away by Red Cross volunteers.
An official said several children had been on board.
The Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, the Speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, and a
number of ministers and deputies had arrived at the airport to comfort the
families.
''We are working with all the power we have to try and find missing people from
this tragedy,'' Mr Hariri said.
''We are working to find the black box that will tell us what really happened on
the plane.''
The Ethiopian Airlines chief executive, Girma Wake, said from Addis Ababa that
he had no information on the fate of those on board or on the cause of the
crash. The aircraft had been serviced on December 25.
The airline had sent a team to Beirut to investigate.
________
Ethiopian plane crashes into sea
BEIRUT,
Jan 25, 2010 (Reuters) - An Ethiopian Airlines plane with 85 passengers on board
crashed into the Mediterranean sea shortly after taking off from Beirut
international airport in the early hours of Monday, airport sources said. The
plane, said to be a Boeing 737 by one source, disappeared off the radar some
five minutes after takeoff.
About 50 passengers were Lebanese nationals, most of the others were Ethiopians,
the sources said. There were thought to be seven crew members.
The plane took off shortly after its scheduled time of 7:10 p.m. EST, flying
south-west, the sources said.
Ethiopian Airlines' website shows it has a flight from Beirut to the Ethiopian
capital of Addis Ababa around that time, operating a Boeing 737. The airline
could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to one source, residents on the coast saw a plane on fire crashing.
Senior Lebanese officials headed to Rafik Hariri International Airport after
news of the crash. The plane had flown in from Addis Ababa earlier in the night,
the sources said.
Hundreds of Ethiopians work as domestic helpers in Lebanon.
(Reporting by Nadim Ladki; editing by Robin Pomeroy)
----
Ethiopian Airlines jet 'crashes into sea off
Beirut'
January
25, 2010 (BBC News) An Ethiopian Airlines passenger plane has crashed into
the Mediterranean Sea shortly after taking off from Beirut airport in Lebanon.
Lebanese aviation sources said the plane was heading for the Ethiopian capital
Addis Ababa and had 85 passengers on board.
Reuters news agency quotes airport sources as saying that about 50 of the
passengers were Lebanese nationals.
The majority of the remaining passengers were Ethiopian, they add.
Thousands of Ethiopians are employed as domestic helpers in Lebanon.
The plane, believed to be a Boeing 737, disappeared from radar screens some five
minutes after take-off, Reuters reports.
The plane is said to have left Beirut shortly after its scheduled departure time
of 0310 local time.
Residents who live near the coast are reported to have witnessed a plane on fire
crashing into the sea.
State
College, Pa. -- 27 January 2010 -- Weather experts reported frequent lightning
was in the area of Monday morning's Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crash into the
Mediterranean Sea, according to data compiled by AccuWeather.com.
minister says the plane that went down in storm, killing 90, suddenly turned in
opposite direction from suggested path