Ethiopian Airlines Crash: No Answers 1 Year Later

It has nearly been a year to the day when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 took off, only tocrash six minutes later, resulting in the deaths of all 157 lives onboard.

The doomed Boeing 737 Max flight took off from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia, then crashed in Tulu Fara village near Bishoftu – a small town approximately 38 kilometres to the South East of the capital.

Ethiopian crash investigators have provisionally stated in an interim report released on Saturday, 7 March, that the aircraft’s design was the reason for its failure. The draft report is causing controversy as it neglects to mention the performance of Ethiopian Airlines or its flight crew.

The crash has had far-reaching consequences as it was the second failure – a 737 Max crashed in October 2018 – of the Boeing 737 Max plane type, which led to the grounding of all Max 8 and 9 jets. Families of the victims have filed over 100 lawsuits against the airplane manufacturer.

The families will gather at the crash site outside of Addis Ababa tomorrow morning to remember the tragedy precisely one year later.