Analysis of Black Boxes of the crashed Ethiopian Airlines flight showed ‘clear similarities’ with crashed Lion Air flight the Ethiopian Transport Minister was reported saying by the Wall Street Journal.
The New York Times reports that information “from the data and voice recorders from an Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed last weekend show similarities to an earlier crash of the same type of Boeing plane used by an Indonesian airline, Ethiopia’s transport ministry said.”
A spokesman for the ministry would not say what the similarities were but added that details of the investigation would be revealed later.
Although the investigation of the latest crash is still in its early stages, there have already been indications that the Boeing 737 Max 8 used by Ethiopian Airlines may have had problems similar to those of the Indonesian plane, a Lion Air flight that crashed in October.
A malfunctioning software program aboard the Max 8 planes is a central focus of investigators. The software program, called MCAS, was installed in the new Max 8 planes as a way of preventing stalls and worked by forcing the nose of the plane down.
Meanwhile, on Sunday a memorial service was held for victims of the March 10 crash that claimed 157 passengers. Family, friends and other mourners converged for the burial ceremony of the crash victims at the Holy Trinity Cathedral Orthodox church in Addis Ababa.
Technical investigations into the cause of the accident is currently underway in France. Data from the black boxes have been downloaded and a team of European experts are supposed to work on them.
Ethiopian Airlines said on Saturday that DNA testing of the remains of the 157 passengers on board flight 302 may take up to six months as it offered bereaved families charred earth from the plane crash site to bury.
As families wait for the results from the investigation into the cause of the crash, Ethiopian Airlines is planning to hold a service on Sunday in Addis Ababa, at the Kidist Selassie, or Holy Trinity Cathedral, where many of the country’s past rulers are buried beneath its pink stone spires.
“We were told by the company that we will be given a kilo (of earth) each for burial at Selassie Church for a funeral they will organise,” said one family member who asked not to be named.
Papers given to the families at the Skylight Hotel on Saturday said death certificates would be issued within two weeks, and an initial payment made to cover immediate expenses.
The return of remains – most of which are charred and fragmented – would take up to six months, the papers said, but in the meantime earth from the crash site would be given.
Abdulmajid Sheriff, a Kenyan whose Yemeni brother-in-law died, said they had already held a service.
“We are Muslims we didn’t care about that (earth). We did yesterday our prayers at the mosque and that is all for us.”
via WSJ / Africa News
