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Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409

Coordinates: 33°45′28″N 35°25′49″E / 33.75778°N 35.43028°E / 33.75778; 35.43028
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Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409
ET-ANB, the aircraft involved in the crash, seen 2 months before the accident
Accident
Date25 January 2010
SummaryCrashed shortly after take-off due to loss of control, pilot error, fatigue, and poor crew resource management
SiteMediterranean Sea, 3.5 km (2.2 mi; 1.9 nmi) off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon
33°45′28″N 35°25′49″E / 33.75778°N 35.43028°E / 33.75778; 35.43028
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-8AS
OperatorEthiopian Airlines
IATA flight No.ET409
ICAO flight No.ETH409
Call signETHIOPIAN 409
RegistrationET-ANB
Flight originBeirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, Lebanon
DestinationBole International Airport, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Occupants90
Passengers82
Crew8
Fatalities90
Survivors0

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 was an international commercial flight scheduled from Beirut to Addis Ababa that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff from Rafic Hariri International Airport on 25 January 2010, killing all 90 people on board.[1][2] This was the first fatal crash for Ethiopian Airlines since the hijack of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 in 1996.[3][4][5]

Aircraft and crew

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The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-8AS, registration ET-ANB, s/n 29935.[1][6] It had its maiden flight on 18 January 2002, and was delivered new to Ryanair on 4 February 2002 as EI-CSW.[7] Stored in April 2009 (2009-04), Ethiopian Airlines took delivery of the aircraft on 12 September 2009, leased from CIT Group.[3][7] Provided with twin CFM56-7B26 powerplants, the airframe last underwent maintenance checks on 25 December 2009 without any technical problems found.[3][7][8] It was 8 years and 7 days old at the time the accident took place.

The captain was 44-year-old Habtamu Benti Negasa, who had been with Ethiopian Airlines since 1989. He was one of the airline's most experienced pilots, having logged 10,233 flight hours, including 2,488 hours on the Boeing 737. The first officer was 23-year-old Aluna Tamerat Beyene. He was far less experienced than the captain, having worked for Ethiopian Airlines for only a year and having 673 flight hours, 350 of them on the Boeing 737.[9]: 28–29 [10]

Accident

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The Boeing 737 took off from runway 21 at Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport in stormy weather,[4] with 82 passengers and eight crew members on board.[11] The METAR data indicated wind speeds of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9 mph) from varying directions, with thunderstorms in the vicinity of the airport. The aircraft climbed erratically to 9,000 feet (2,700 m),[2][12] stalled and entered a spiral dive to the left. Radar contact was lost a few seconds before it crashed into the Mediterranean Sea at 02:41 local time (UTC +2/EET),[9]: 15 [13] four or five minutes after take off. Witnesses near the coast reported seeing the aircraft on fire as it crashed into the sea.[14][15]

Search and recovery

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On the morning following the crash, Lebanese authorities reported locating the crash site 3.5 kilometres (1.9 nmi) off the coast from the village of Na'ameh, in 45 metres (148 ft) of water.[16][17][6] The search for survivors was carried out by the Lebanese Army,[18] using Sikorsky S-61 helicopters, the Lebanese Navy and UNIFIL troops.[13] The U.S. military, in response to a request from the Lebanese government, sent the guided missile destroyer USS Ramage, a Navy Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft,[19] and the salvage ship USNS Grapple.[20] The French Navy sent a Breguet Atlantic reconnaissance aircraft.[21] UNIFIL sent three ships (among them the German minesweeper tender Mosel and the Turkish corvette Bozcaada)[21] and two helicopters to the scene. Further helicopters were sent by the Royal Air Force,[4] and the Cyprus Police Aviation Unit.[22]

On 7 February, Lebanese Army divers recovered the plane's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder (CVR).[23][24] The CVR was missing a memory storage unit when found. This was reported on 16 February as having been recovered.[6] All were sent to the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) for analysis.[25]

All the deceased were recovered from the sea by 23 February. The recovered bodies were sent to the Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut for DNA testing and identification. They were all identified by the end of February.[6][26]

Investigation

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The Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA) investigated the accident, with the assistance of the BEA, Boeing, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States.[27][28]

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman stated before the flight data recorders were found that the crash was not due to terrorism.[29] Lebanese Information Minister Tarek Mitri rejected the notion that the aircraft should not have been allowed to take off under the current weather conditions, stating that "many" other aircraft had taken off during the time period.[30]

Final report

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The final investigation report was created by the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA), part of the Lebanese Ministry of Public Works and Transport, and presented on 17 January 2012.

Possible fire on board

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It noted that eyewitnesses, including an air traffic controller, and a crew flying in the vicinity of Flight 409, had reported seeing an "orange light", "an orange explosion", or "a ball of fire" which matched "the time and calculated location of the accident". The LCAA speculates, in their report, that impressions of explosions or fire may have been caused by the aircraft lights during the steep dive or by "thunderstorm activities in the area", as "no sign of any explosion or fire were detected on the wreckage" or "during the autopsies carried on some of the bodies".[9]

Black soot

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On the wreckage "a black soot near the APU exhaust" was found with "some wrinkle on the metal". A laboratory examination by the NTSB "confirmed that the black soot was not related to excessive heat or fire", because "Zinc chromate primer paint changes color when exposed to heat" and "there was no change in the color of the paint on the primer side". The spectrum analysis suggests that the black soot "was organic" and it "most closely matched spectra from lubricating oils".[9]

Cause

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The report concluded that "the probable causes of the accident were the flight crew's mismanagement of the aircraft's speed, altitude, headings, and attitude through inconsistent flight control inputs resulting in a loss of control and their failure to abide by CRM (Crew Resource Management) principles of mutual support and calling deviations".[9]

Contributing factors

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The report also listed a number of contributing factors:

  • The manipulation of the flight controls by the flight crew in an ineffective manner resulted in the aircraft's undesired behavior and increased the level of stress of the pilots.
  • The aircraft being out of trim for most of the flight directly increased the workload on the pilot and made his control of the aircraft more demanding.
  • The prevailing weather conditions at night most probably resulted in spatial disorientation to the flight crew and lead to loss of situational awareness.
  • The consecutive flying on a new type with the absolute minimum rest could have likely resulted in a chronic fatigue affecting the captain's performance.[Note 1]
  • The first officer's reluctance to intervene did not help in confirming a case of captain's subtle incapacitation[Note 2] and/or to take over control of the aircraft as stipulated in the operators SOP.[9]

Response by the Airline

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Ethiopian Airlines stated they "strongly refutes [sic]" the report, and that it "was biased, lacking evidence, incomplete and did not present the full account of the accident".

The airline released a press statement on the day the investigation report was presented. In it, they pointed out that the halting of flight data and cockpit voice recordings at 1,300 feet (ca. 396 meters), disappearing from radar at that time, and eyewitness reports of a fireball "clearly indicate that the aircraft disintegrated in the air due to explosion, which could have been caused by a shoot-down, sabotage, or lightning strike."[31][32][33][34]

Passengers and crew

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Ethiopian Airlines issued the following list of the nationalities of the victims:[35]

Country Passengers Crew Total
Lebanon 51 0 51
Ethiopia 23 8 31
United Kingdom 2 0 2
Canada 1 0 1
France 1 0 1
Iraq 1 0 1
Russia 1 0 1
Syria 1 0 1
Turkey 1 0 1
Total 82 8 90

A memorial ceremony was held at the Ethiopian Airlines premises in Addis Ababa on 14 February 2010.[36]

In the media

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The crash was dramatized in the twelfth series of the Canadian documentary Mayday (also known as Air Emergency or Air Crash Investigation). It is titled "Heading to Disaster". The episode re-creates the crash based on the Lebanese investigators' final report.[37]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ It is also mentioned that the heavy meal discussed by the crew prior to take-off has affected their quality of sleep prior to that flight.
  2. ^ The report stated that "subtle incapacitation is about a slow degradation of performance in a crew member. It is more dangerous when it occurs to the captain, due to the cockpit authority gradient. The pilot would look and sound as if he was conscious; however, his performance would have degraded.", and "Such incapacitation have been identified by experts as being the result of sleep loss, fatigue, emotional stress, blood chemistry imbalances, or as a result of some drugs or alcohol."

References

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  1. ^ a b Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 25 August 2011.
  2. ^ a b Kaminski-Morrow, David (25 August 2011). "Inquiry details crashed Ethiopian 737's erratic flightpath". London: Flightglobal. Air Transport Intelligence news. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Karp, Aaron; Thomas, Geoffrey (26 June 2010). "Lebanese officials cite poor weather in Ethiopian 737 crash; NTSB to send investigator". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  4. ^ a b c "Ethiopian Airlines jet crashes into sea off Beirut". BBC News. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  5. ^ Henry, Derrick (24 January 2010). "Ethiopian Airliner Crashes Near Beirut". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d "Crash: Ethiopian Airlines B738 near Beirut on 25 January 2010, lost height after takeoff and impacted Mediterranean". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  7. ^ a b c "Boeing 737 Next Gen MSN 29935". Airfleets.net. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  8. ^ Ladki, Nadim; Bayoumy, Yara (25 January 2010). "UPDATE 11-Ethiopian plane crashes off Beirut, 90 feared dead". Reuters. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Investigation Report on the Accident to Ethiopian 409 – Boeing 737-800 Registration ET-ANB at Beirut – Lebanon on 25th January 2010" (PDF). Ministry of Public Works and Transport. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  10. ^ "The crew of Ethiopian Flight 409 (update)". EthiopianReview.com. Ethiopian Review. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  11. ^ Zablit, Jocelyne (25 January 2010). "Ethiopian airliner crashes near Beirut". The Sydney Morning Herald. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  12. ^ Kaminski-Morrow, David. "Contact with ill-fated Ethiopian 737 lost at 9,000ft". London: Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  13. ^ a b Sandaruwan, Miyuru (25 January 2010). "ET409 crashed into sea". Airline Industry Review. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  14. ^ "Ethiopian jet crashes off Beirut". Al Jazeera. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  15. ^ "Ethiopian Airlines plane crashes into Mediterranean sea". The Telegraph. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  16. ^ "Ethiopian jet crash bodies pulled from sea off Beirut". BBC News. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  17. ^ Ladki, Nadim (25 January 2010). "Lebanon says Ethiopian plane crash site located". Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  18. ^ "Ethiopian airliner crashes on takeoff in Lebanon". News.com.au. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  19. ^ Perry, Carl; Husseini, Nada (26 January 2010). "Bodies found from Ethiopian Airlines crash". CNN. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  20. ^ "US salvage ship to aid in Ethiopian Airlines aircraft recovery efforts". United States Navy. Archived from the original on 31 January 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  21. ^ a b "Accident du Boeing d'Ethiopian airlines: un Atlantique 2 mène les recherches" [Ethiopian airlines Boeing accident: Atlantic 2 conducts research] (in French). Ministry of Defence (France). Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  22. ^ Hazou, Elias. "Ninety feared dead in Lebanon crash". Cyprus Mail. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  23. ^ "Black Box Retrieved 14 Days after Ethiopian Plane Crash" (news). Naharnet. An-Nahar. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  24. ^ "Ethiopia Airlines jet 'black box' retrieved in Lebanon". BBC News. 7 February 2010. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012.
  25. ^ "Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 on 25 January 2010 B 737-800, registered ET-ANB" (Press release). Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012.
  26. ^ Galey, Patrick; Katerji, Omar (26 January 2010). "90 feared dead in Ethiopian plane crash". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014.
  27. ^ "Boeing Statement on Ethiopian Airlines Accident in Lebanon – Update" (Press release). Boeing. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  28. ^ "US investigators to assist Lebanon with plane crash probe". iloubnan.info. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  29. ^ Bonnett, Tom; Williams, David (25 January 2010). "Hopes Fade For 90 Plane Crash Passengers". Sky News. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  30. ^ "Mitri Says Investigations in airliner Crash Are Ongoing". NOW News. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  31. ^ Boynton, Christine (19 January 2012). "Ethiopian: Crash investigation report is incomplete, biased". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  32. ^ Perry, Dominic (19 January 2012). "Pilot error probable cause of Ethiopian Airlines 737 crash". London: Flightglobal. Flight International. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  33. ^ "Ethiopian Airlines Refutes ET 409 Crash Report" (Press release). Ethiopian Airlines. 17 January 2012. Archived from the original on 15 June 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  34. ^ Eyewitness: 'Fire falling down into the sea' Archived 9 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  35. ^ "ET Flight 409 Incident 1". Ethiopian Airlines. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 8 August 2010.
  36. ^ "ET Flight 409 Accident Update 10" (Press release). Ethiopian Airlines. 16 February 2010. Archived from the original on 8 August 2010.
  37. ^ "Heading to Disaster". Mayday. Season 12. Episode 11. Discovery Channel Canada.
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