Pilots lost control despite following Boeing procedures

The Ethiopian Airlines flight was headed to Nairobi on a clear morning on March 10 when it plummeted nose-first into a field outside Addis Ababa just minutes after take-off. Pic/AFP

The crew of the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed last month killing 157 people, repeatedly followed procedures recommended by Boeing, but were unable to regain control of the jet, according the investigators' report released on Thursday.

The initial report, unveiled by Ethiopian Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges, cast further doubt on the system controlling the Boeing 737 MAX 8 model, which has been grounded worldwide for almost a month. "The crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer, but was not able to control the aircraft," said Dagmawit Moges. "Aviation authorities shall verify that the review of the aircraft flight control system has been adequately addressed by the manufacturer before the release of the aircraft for operations," she added. Boeing is reviewing the report.

The Ethiopian Airlines flight was headed to Nairobi on a clear morning on March 10 when it plummeted nose-first into a field outside Addis Ababa just minutes after take-off, having reportedly experienced erratic steep climbs and descents. Dagmawit did not give details of what happened in the cockpit during the fateful final minutes of the flight. The head of the accident investigation bureau Amdiye Ayalew said the there had been no sign of "foreign object damage" to the aircraft.

Airlines CEO 'proud' of pilots' efforts

The head of Ethiopian Airlines said on Thursday he was proud of the efforts of the pilots in trying to stop their jet from crashing, as he repeated condolences to the families of the 157 people who died. "We are very proud of our pilots' compliances to follow the emergency procedures, and high level of professional performances in such extremely difficult situations," CEO Tewolde GebreMariam said in a statement.

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