Ethiopian Airlines confirms recovery of data, voice recorders of crashed aircraft

Ethiopian Airlines on Monday confirmed it has successfully recovered the data and voice recorders on the crashed aircraft that killed all 157 aboard on Sunday.

“After tedious search by the rescue and investigation team for the black box of a 737-Max 8 plane, Ethiopian Airlines announces that the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) of ET302 have been Recovered.’’

The Nairobi-bound Boeing 737-8 MAX crashed near Bishoftu town, about 45 kilometers from the capital, Addis Ababa, just minutes from take-off from Bole International Airport, the airline said in a statement.

“Ethiopian has continued monitoring the situation closely with all stakeholders and is providing all the necessary support to the families of the deceased in its temporarily established family assistance centres in Addis Ababa and Nairobi Airports,” the statement added.

Earlier on Monday, Ethiopian Airlines announced its decision to suspend commercial operations on all Boeing 737-Max 8 aircraft.

In another development, Indonesia is considering helping Ethiopian authorities investigate the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft, an official said.

“We have proposed to the (Indonesian) Ministry of Transportation that we assist, but it hasn’t been decided yet as we’re still discussing it,” said Indriantono, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT).

The crash on Sunday was the second involving a Boeing 737 Max 8 in just over four months, after a flight operated by Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air plummeted into the Java Sea shortly after take-off on Oct. 29, killing 189 people.

The KNKT found evidence of technical errors in its preliminary report on the Lion Air crash. (Xinhua/NAN)