French investigators help probe Ethiopian Airlines plane crash
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - French investigators have been selected to assist the investigation over the crash of Boeing 737 Max 8 jet plane from Ethiopian Airlines that killed all 157 people on board earlier this week, the airline confirmed on Thursday in a statement.
According to the statement, an Ethiopian delegation led by Accident Investigation Bureau(AIB) has flown the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) to Paris, France for investigation.
The airline had earlier incorrectly identified the plane’s model number, but later confirmed it was a 737 MAX 8.
The move comes after Boeing has been insisting to analyze the data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, of the flight which crashed soon after takeoff from Addis Ababa on Sunday.
In a related development, Boeing technical team has been deployed to the crash site to provide technical assistance under the direction of the Ethiopia Accident Investigation Bureau and U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, it said.
Reports indicate that it was the second crash of the new aircraft of 737-8 Max series. after one operated by Indonesia's Lion Air crashed in October 2017.
Both flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder of the Boeing 737 Max 8 plane that crashed into Indonesia's water had been retrieved from sea floor by divers.
Based on data gleaned from the flight data recorder, Indonesian investigators had found out several findings linked with the causes of the fatal flight of JT-610 and delivered recommendations to the U.S. plane maker Boeing, including on how to handle an emergency situation during the flight with the Boeing 737 Max 8 plane.
The "black box" data recorder from the jet in Indonesia crash shows its airspeed indicator malfunctioned on its last four flights.
Apart from Ethiopia, US and Brazil became the latest countries to suspend the Boeing 737 Max from flying after nations including the UK, China, India and Australia all grounded the aircraft.
-0- PANA TW/AR 14Mar2019
