1. Aircraft’s airworthiness was certified;
2. The crew were capable of flying& followed Boeing’s procedures;
3. Take off appeared normal;
4. Crew followed all procedures, but was unable to control the aircraft.

The release of the actual preliminary report by Ethiopia’s Ministry of Transport is expected during Apr 4th or Apr 5th 2019.

Boeing statement
We at Boeing are sorry for the lives lost in the recent 737 MAX accidents. These tragedies continue to weigh heavily on our hearts and minds, and we extend our sympathies to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. All of us feel the immense gravity of these events across our company and recognize the devastation of the families and friends of the loved ones who perished.

The full details of what happened in the two accidents will be issued by the government authorities in the final reports, but, with the release of the preliminary report of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accident investigation, it’s apparent that in both flights the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, known as MCAS, activated in response to erroneous angle of attack information.

The history of our industry shows most accidents are caused by a chain of events. This again is the case here, and we know we can break one of those chain links in these two accidents. As pilots have told us, erroneous activation of the MCAS function can add to what is already a high workload environment. It’s our responsibility to eliminate this risk. We own it and we know how to do it.

From the days immediately following the Lion Air accident, we’ve had teams of our top engineers and technical experts working tirelessly in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration and our customers to finalize and implement a software update that will ensure accidents like that of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 never happen again.

We’re taking a comprehensive, disciplined approach, and taking the time, to get the software update right. We’re nearing completion and anticipate its certification and implementation on the 737 MAX fleet worldwide in the weeks ahead. We regret the impact the grounding has had on our airline customers and their passengers.

This update, along with the associated training and additional educational materials that pilots want in the wake of these accidents, will eliminate the possibility of unintended MCAS activation and prevent an MCAS-related accident from ever happening again.

The post Preliminary findings on ET 302 and Boeing Statement first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Everything that is essential to a plane’s operation should be included in pilot training. The pilot must know his tools backward and forward. What happens when that training is curtailed?

On March 19th, the US Department of Transportation announced that its inspector general will audit the 737 Max 8’s certification process. Some pilots say they know how to address problems with the 737 Max 8’s maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS) system. Pilots say the MCAS software system can (apparently) be disabled by hitting the trim switch on the control column. Difference training is required for pilots who fly the Max, but apparently (MCAS) explanations, operations, procedures related to the differences were left out of the manual. The flight manual of Boeing’s 737 Max 8 planes mentions MCAS computer system only once. If MCAS information was cut from the manual to prevent the MCAS from having to be included in 737 Max transition training, whoever cut it considered only that it would save 737 Max operators training costs, but not what it would cost in terms of human lives.

The post MCAS At the forefront of Boeing 737 MAX Controversy first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-8 MAX Flight ET-302 had just taken off from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia en route to Nairobi Kenya when radar contact was lost, and the plane crashed. 149 passengers and 8 crew were lost. The impact occurred near Bishoftu, Ethiopia 17 m SSE of Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Airlines announced that no survivors were found. People from 33 different countries were aboard.
On Mar 10th 2019 Ethiopian Airlines reported that the crew reported difficulties and requested a return to Addis Ababa.

BBC Africa reported aboard were 32 Kenyan, 18 Canadian, 9 Ethiopian,8 Chinese, 8 Italian, 8 American,7 French, 7 British, 6 Egyptian, 5 Dutch, 4 UN passports, 4 Indian, 3 Russian, 2 Moroccan, 2 Israeli, 1 Belgian, 1 Ugandan, 1 Yemeni, 1 Sudanese, 1 Togolese, 1 Mozambican, 1 Norwegian

Ethiopian Airlines said:

Boeing said:

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Ethiopian Airlines flight 3W-20 blew a tire after landing in Johannesburg, South Africa, on January 14th.

The incident happened when the Boeing 737-700 plane was coming from Blantyre, Malawi.

The plane was towed to the apron.

Everyone aboard remained safe.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Plane Blows Tire After Landing in Johannesburg first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The incident happened when the Boeing 737-800 plane was coming from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The plane came to stop on soft ground. All one hundred and thirty-nine people aboard remained uninjured.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Plane Overruns Runway at Entebbe Airport first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Boeing 787-800 plane took off for Singapore but had to turn back due to an engine failure.

The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Flight Returns to Addis Ababa After Engine Failure first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Boeing 787-800 plane took off for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but had to turn back due to a cracked windshield.

The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Flight Returns to Brazil due to Cracked Windshield first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The plane took off for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but had to turn back due to indication of a mechanical problem.

The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Flight Makes Emergency Landing at Washington Dulles Airport first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Boeing 767-300 plane flying from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was on final approach when the crew received an unsafe gear indication and aborted the approach.

The crew subsequently worked the checklists and landed safely on second approach.

All 226 people aboard remained safe.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Delhi first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The plane heading from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Beijing, China, was diverted after a mentally disabled patient attacked and injured his medical attendant.

The authorities said both passengers involved in the fight were Chinese nationals.

The plane landed safely.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Lahore first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The plane en-route from Mumbai, India, to Kathmandu, Nepal, was diverted due to a technical issue.

The plane landed safely. There were 255 people aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Flight Diverts to Delhi due to Technical Issues first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Boeing 787-800 plane heading from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Rome, Italy, was diverted after the crew noticed several problems including issues with left hand engine.

The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Flight Diverts to Athens first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Boeing 777-300 plane heading from Beijing, China, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was diverted due to a suspected fuel leak.

The plane landed uneventfully. There were 335 passengers and 12 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Flight Diverts to Lahore due to Suspected Fuel Leak first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Boeing 737-800, flying from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was mid-air when smoke began to appear in its cabin.

The plane landed safely.

No one was injured.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Plane makes Safe Landing in Botswana due to Smoke first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Boeing 787-800 flying from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Washington DC, had to divert due to an engine problem. The crew decided to shut down an engine mid-air.

The plane landed safely after dumping thousands of litres of fuel.

No injuries were reported.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Plane Diverts to Ireland due to Engine Shut Down first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Boeing 737, en-route from Lome, Togo to Accra, Ghana, skidded during landing at the runway of Kotoka International Airport.

There were 3 people aboard the plane; all of them survived the accident. Authorities said they were taken to the 37 Military Hospital, Accra, for medical treatment and were later discharged.

The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority is investigating.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Jet Skids Off the Runway in Ghana first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The co-pilot told ATC the plane was being hijacked, and after he landed, climbed down a rope from the cockpit, and told ground police forces that he was the hijacker.

Ethiopia, which has a reputation of targeting journalists, opposition and minorities, has a deteriorating human rights record, and owns Ethiopia Airlines. Charges against the co-pilot could result in a twenty year prison sentence.

No one was injured in the hijacking, but two Italian fighter jets “escorted” the plane to Geneva. Two hundred and two people were aboard.

The post Co-pilot accused of hijacking Ethiopian Airlines flight first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

On December 18, Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-383ER #ET-AQW en route from Addis Ababa to Zanzibar-Kisauni Airport diverted to Arusha Airport. On landing on the too short runway, the plane’s wheels departed the pavement and became mired in soft ground.

No one was injured in the landing.

There is a rumor that the pilots diverted from the Zanzibar airport because they were unable to land there because there was a vehicle on the runway with a flat tire. The plane was nearly out of fuel and the best/closest option was Arusha. Passengers waited aboard as air stairs were driven from Kilimanjaro airport to Arusha—time consuming, but stairs eliminate the likelihood of injury by emergency evacuation on slides.

The diversion to Arusha is under inquiry; they apparently landed without clearance and once they were down, asked where they were. It is unknown if, even under the most favorable conditions (i.e., empty with experts at the helm), the plane can take from the short runway. It remains to be seen how the crew will fare for this decision, but some credit should be given for landing a 767 safely onto a 4500′ runway with zero casualties. Some armchair pilots are guessing that the pilots mistook Arusha for Kilimanjaro airport, mistaking Mount Meru for Kilimanjaro.

The post Ethiopian Airliner Diverts, Mired At Arusha Airport first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The flight was diverted to Malta, where they made a safe landing with one engine.

None of the 135 aboard were injured.

The flight took off again later, for Addis Ababa.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Diverts to Malta first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The Oman Air flight to Dar-Es-Salaam and Muscat was only delayed four hours.

Neither plane reported damage. There is no indication if passengers were aboard either plane at the time of the incident.

The incident occurred at Zanzibar International Airport, now called Abeid Amani Karume International Airport.

The post Two Boeings Bump in Tanzania first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

An Ethiopian Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-11F Cargo plane fell on its tail.

The cargo plane may have had an unbalanced load. The incident occurred during loading or unloading; and the plane is reported to be back in service.

The post Unbalanced McDonnell Douglas? first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

An Ethiopian Airlines’ Queen of Sheba, a Boeing 787 #ET-AOP which had been sitting empty for eight hours caught fire and shut down Heathrow Airport for an hour Friday. The fire seems to have started in the upper fuselage, far from the 787’s lithium-ion batteries. A battery fire would have been “contained by the new casing and…smoke would have been vented outside of the airplane.” Nearly a dozen fire trucks responded to the scene. The plane was parked on the apron taxiway E at Stand 592 next to a fire station.

#ET-AOP had arrived from Addis Ababa as flight ET700 at 06:30a.m. Departure was scheduled as ET701 to Addis Ababa at 21:10.

In photos, damage appears on the outside top of the upper fuselage near the vertical stabilizer, on the left side of the top of the airplane just in front of the tail. The fire was not caused by lithium-ion batteries, which are in in the cargo-bay.

Potential causes of the fire:

• a gadget such as the coffeemaker
• a manufacturing or installation defect in his jet;
• a different systemic defect in the 787 model

NTSB Sends Investigator to Participate in Investigation of London Boeing 787 Dreamliner Fire

The National Transportation Safety Board has sent an investigator to assist in the investigation of a fire that occurred yesterday aboard a parked Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Heathrow Airport, London, England.
NTSB Senior Air Safety Investigator Lorenda Ward has been appointed as the traveling U.S. accredited representative. Ms. Ward will be accompanied by NTSB airplane systems investigators and representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.
The investigation is being conducted by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) of the United Kingdom, which will release all information.

The post Ethiopian Airlines Fire at Heathrow first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The report from Lebanon on the January 2010 crash of ET409 has been rejected by Ethiopia Airlines. It is not surprising that they would reject it as the report blames Ethiopian airlines; specifically they cite the probable cause of the crash as being “the flight crew’s mismanagement” and “a failure in basic piloting skills,” and that the pilot flew 188 hours in 51 days with minimum rest.

The crew ate during their Beirut stop, and complained they could not sleep afterwards.

Ethiopian Airlines claims the government withheld information, and claim the plane exploded.

No sign of fire or explosion were detected in the wreckage

Read More

Read More

The post Flight 409: Ethiopia Airlines Rejects Official Report first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The investigative committee is composed of Boeing representatives, plus Lebanese and Ethiopian representatives who say the report will take at least another month. An NTSB analysis of black spots were caused by hot oil, and one segment of a cockpit voice recorder was unsalvageable.

The Boeing turned after taking off from runway 21, was instructed to bank hard to the left, at which time it spiraled down 8000 feet.

Prior to the latest announcement, the last public announcement promised the Lebonese people that the report would be released before the end of July 2011. Of course, it is August now and it has not yet been made public.

On that flight, there were 23 young Ethiopian women returning home from an abusive stint hired as domestic workers.

The Ethiopian passengers in the crash were:
Addis Abera Demise (Ethiopia)
Bahrnesh Megersa (Ethiopia)
Kidist Wolde Mariam (Ethiopia)
Elisabeth Tilhum Habtermariam (Ethiopia)
Rahel Tadese (Ethiopia)
Etenesh Admasie (Ethiopia)
Woinshet Meugistu Melaku (Ethiopia)
Azeb Betre Kebede (Ethiopia)
Tigist Shikur Hajana (Ethiopia)
Hani Gebre Gembezo (Ethiopia)
Alunesh Tkele (Ethiopia)
Shitu Nuri (Ethiopia)
Selam Zigdaya (Ethiopia)
Yikma Mohamed (Ethiopia)
Seble Agezc (Ethiopia)
Aynalem Tessema (Ethiopia)
Eyerus Alem Desta (Ethiopia)
Mekiya Sirur (Ethiopia)
Lakesh Zeleke (Ethiopia)
Tigist Anura (Ethiopia)
Askalesh Soboka (Ethiopia)
Meselu Beshah (Ethiopia)
Kevin Graingur (UK)
Marla Sanchez Pietton (France)
Akram Jassem Mohammad (Iraq)
Mohammad Abdel-Rahman Saii (Syria)

The Lebanese passengers in the crash were:

Hanna Nakhoul Kreidi
Haidar Hasan Marji
Ali Youssef Jaber
Ali Ahmed Jaber
Abbas Mohammed Jaber
Mohammed Mustafa Badawi
Khalil Ibrahim Saleh
Hasan Adnan Kreik
Saeed Abdel Hasan Zahr
Hussein Ali Farhat
Ali Suheil Yaghi
Rawan Hasan Wazneh
Bassem Qassem Khazaal
Haifa Ahmed Wazneh
Ali Ahmed Tajeddine
Tanal Abdallah Fardoun
Mustafa Haitham Arnaout
Fouad Mahmoud al-Laqiss
Mohammed Kamal Akoush
Tony Elias al-Zakhem
Hamzeh Ali Jaafar
Hasan Mohammed Issawi
Hasan Kamal Ibrahim
Ghassan Ibrahim Qaterji
Haifa Ibrahim al-Farran
Hussein Youssef Hajj Ali
Fares Rashid Zibian
Farid Saad Moussa
Mohammed Ali Qatbi
Yasser Youssef Mehdi
Anees Mustafa Safa
Hussein Moussa Barakat
Antoine Toufiq al-Hayek
Elias Antonius Rafeeh
Tareq George Barakat
Khalil Nami al-Khazen (MTV official)
Rana Youssef al-Harakeh
Mohammed Abdel Hussein al-Hajj
Hussein Kamal Hayek
Asaad Masoud al-Fghali
Ziad Naeem Qosseifi
Rida Ali Mistokirdi
Albert Jirji Assal
Imad Ahmed Hather
Fouad Mohammed Jaber
Khalil Mohammed Madani
Hasan Mohammed Abdel Hasan Tajeddine
Yasser Abdel Hussein Ismail
Jamal Ali Khatoun
Afif Krisht (Lebanese-British)
Abbas Hawilli (Lebanese-Canadian)
Anna Mohammed Abes (Lebanese-Russian)
Julia Mohammed al-Hajj, 3
Mohammed Hasan Kreik, 4

The post Ethiopia Flight 409: More Promises and Procrastination first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Nigeria’s airports are slated to be revamped to meet international standards according to Stella Oduah, Minister of Aviation. Safety and security are intended to be the new priority, as they aim for “zero” accidents.

Infrastructure and services are also slated to be improved.

The ICAO’s AFI plan is part of the Third Pan-African Aviation Training Coordination Conference.

The conference is organized by the ICAO Comprehensive Regional Implementation Plan for Aviation Safety in Africa (AFI Plan) in cooperation with the aviation regional organizations in the AFI Region, and hosted by the Government of South Africa will be held in Cape Town, South Africa from 27 to 29 July 2011.

The agenda for the conference is here.

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