'Boeing killed our loved ones': relatives seek answers one year on from Ethiopia Airlines crash


Samuel Getachew
  • English
  • Arabic

The families of passengers and crew aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 marked the first anniversary of the crash on Tuesday in the shadow of an interim report focused on software installed on the Boeing 737 MAX airliner.

The accident killed all 157 people aboard and was the second involving the new 737 MAX plane in only five months, leading to its worldwide grounding.

Hundreds of relatives and friends from across the world travelled to Ethiopia for the memorial from nations including Canada, the United States, Kenya, Uganda, Italy and France.

A ceremony at the crash site, about a three-hour drive from the capital Addis Ababa, included tree planting and the reading out of victims' names. A candlelight vigil was also organised by the Ethiopian Airline Pilots Association.

Monday's interim report from Ethiopia's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau bolstered the findings of Ethiopia's initial assessment, which linked the crash to the plane's MCAS anti-stall software.

It identified no issues with the airline or the pilots' handling of the plane, which crashed shortly after take-off.

The 737 MAX, Boeing's best-selling plane, remains grounded. The company has lost billions of dollars after the Ethiopian crash and an October 2018 accident involving Indonesia's Lion Air that killed all 189 people aboard.

Max Thabiso Edkins, 35, an aspiring filmmaker, marine biologist and climate expert with the World Bank on his way to the United Nations Environment Conference in Kenya’s Capital, Nairobi when he died.

His father, noted South African filmmaker Don Edkins, came to Addis Ababa this week to film a documentary on his son's tragic end. Max was a father of one whose second child was due just months after the accident.

Mr Edkins was unsurprised anticipates the final report on the March 10, 2019 accident will give him more information and perhaps even closure.

"This is a preliminary report and does not yet have the analysis which will be in the final report", he told The National.

“But what it shows is that the procedure given by Boeing after the Lion Air crash did not work. The on board computer got information from only one sensor which gave an incorrect angle of attack”.

A grieving family member of Elsabet Minwuyelet, a hostess who also perished in the crash, highlighted the impact losing the young newlywed mother.

With nothing to bury, the family was given sacks of earth by Ethiopian Airlines, he said.

"The whole family has been affected. We have a young daughter being raised by a grandmother and one who will never get to know or see her own mother," he told The National.

"We are still devastated and it really does not seem real. Every milestone is a reminder of what we lost and what could have been”.

The flight control system defeated the pilots’ efforts to control the plane. When it triggered for the fourth and final time, the pilots fought back on their control columns, but the nose of the plane sank even more and the jet flew even faster.

Shortly before impact, the jet plummeted towards the ground at 925kph — at the rate of more than 1,500 metres per minute — with its nose tilted down at a 40-degree angle, according to the report.

A date for the release of the final report has not been set, but Mr Edkins has ideas of what it may contain.

“The pilots tried to rectify but did not have the information," he said, "so what this interim report tells me is that Boeing was to blame for an unsafe design that the pilots could do nothing about."

"Boeing killed our loved ones through their greed and turning a bling eye to the inadequacies in the design of the 737 Max."

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Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

Saturday's results

West Ham 2-3 Tottenham
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton
Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves
Brighton 0-2 Leicester City
Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
Everton 0-2 Norwich City
Watford 0-3 Burnley

Manchester City v Chelsea, 9.30pm 

if you go

The flights

Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.

The hotel

Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.

The tour

Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg

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Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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MATCH INFO

CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures

Tuesday:

Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)

Second legs:

October 23

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SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

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The specs: 2019 Audi A7 Sportback

Price, base: Dh315,000

Engine: 3.0-litre V6

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 335hp @ 5,000rpm

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Fuel economy 5.9L / 100km

Breast cancer in men: the facts

1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.

2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash. 

3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible. 

4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key. 

5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor

 

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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

MATCH INFO

Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)

TV: Abu Dhabi Sports

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Biography

Her family: She has four sons, aged 29, 27, 25 and 24 and is a grandmother-of-nine

Favourite book: Flashes of Thought by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid

Favourite drink: Water

Her hobbies: Reading and volunteer work

Favourite music: Classical music

Her motto: I don't wait, I initiate

 

 

 

 

 

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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