Is this terrorism: 90 killed in Ethiopian airliner crash

Remains of an Ethiopian Airlines plane which crashed into the Mediterranean sea on Monday morning, are seen on the shore at Khaldeh beach, south of Beirut, as divers inspect the area, January 25, 2010. The plane with 90 people on board crashed shortly after taking off from Beirut in stormy weather. Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake said he had no word of any survivors from the crash. REUTERS

By NADIM LADKI in BEIRUT, and ARGAW ASHINE

In Summary

• The plane, built in 2002, underwent test last month and had no report of problem

All 90 people aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane were feared dead after it plunged into the Mediterranean, minutes after taking off from Beirut in a thunderstorm on Monday.

Flight ET409, a Boeing 737-800, heading for Addis Ababa, disappeared off the radar some five minutes after taking off at 2:37 am.

The Lebanese army said the plane had broken up in the air before plummeting into rough seas. Witnesses described the impact as a “flash that lit up the whole sea” and a “ball of fire”.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said he did not think the plane had been brought down deliberately, emphasising “a sabotage attack is unlikely”.

Defence Minister Elias el-Murr also said there was no evidence of a terrorist attack and that weather was “in principle” to blame for the crash.

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake said he had spoken with Lebanese authorities who had no word of survivors.

Eighty-three passengers and seven crew were on the flight, Lebanese Transport Minister Ghazi al-Aridi said at the airport.

Twenty-four bodies, including those of two toddlers, have so far been recovered. At least six bodies were of Ethiopian origin, officials said. Some of the bodies were so unrecognisable from the impact of the crash that DNA testing would be needed to identify them.

The remains of mangled aircraft seats and luggage washed up on the shore south of Beirut where the airport’s main runway is located. Lebanese army patrol boats, helicopters and divers searched an area off Na’ameh, 10 kilometres south of the capital.

Fifty-four of those on board were Lebanese, 22 were Ethiopian, two were British and there were also Canadian, Russian, French, Iraqi, Syrian, and Turkish nationals.

Marla Pietton, wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton, was on the plane, the French embassy said.

The Lebanese government declared a day of mourning. Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri visited the airport to meet distraught relatives waiting for news of survivors, some of whom were angry that the plane was allowed to take off in 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 at planes especially during take-offs,” a relative of one of the passengers told a local television station.

Mr Girma said he did not think the crew would have taken off in dangerous weather conditions.

“There was bad weather. How bad it is, I will not be able to say. But, from what I see, probably it was manageable weather otherwise the crew would not have taken off,” he told reporters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

A 14-strong investigation team from Ethiopia including Ethiopian Airlines officials arrived by plane in Beirut to help probe the causes of the crash.

Boeing said it was coordinating with the US National Transportation Safety Board to assist Lebanese authorities in the investigation.

UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, Cypriot police, the British military stationed in Cyprus and the US navy provided helicopters, ships and divers to aid search and rescue.

Mr Girma said the plane, built in 2002, last underwent a maintenance check on December 25 and no technical problems were found. The plane had been leased from a division of US financing company CIT Group. Ethiopian airlines has regular flights to Lebanon. (Reuters)

source.nation.ke