Panafrican News Agency

Rwanda to acquire 2 planes of same type of crashed Ethiopian airline

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) -  Rwanda's national carrier RwandAir is set to acquire two leased planes similar to the 737 Max series of the Ethiopian airline flight that crashed early Sunday, an authoritative source confirmed to PANA in Kigali.

As of February 2019, RwandAir fleet comprised 12 aircraft but the airline expects to acquire two more leased B737-Max series shortly, official reports said.

This type of plane is the latest version of the 737, the world’s best selling modern passenger aircraft and one of the industry’s most reliable.

It said the Boeing 737 Max family brought the latest technology to the most popular jet aircraft of all time, and was designed to provide passengers with a “comfortable flying experience and more direct routes to their favorite destinations”.

While the cause of the accident is still under investigation, it said Sunday's crash by Ethiopian airline was the second recent crash of the relatively new 737 MAX 8, the latest version of Boeing’s workhorse narrowbody jet that first entered service in 2017.

The same model crashed into the Java Sea (Indonesia) shortly after take-off from Jakarta in 2018, killing all 189 people on board the local Lion Air flight.

It said that investigations would focus on airline maintenance and training and the response of a Boeing anti-stall system to a recently replaced sensor.

The Ethiopian airline had earlier incorrectly identified the plane’s model number but later confirmed it was a 737 MAX 8.

“A Boeing technical team is prepared to provide technical assistance at the request and under the direction of the US National Transportation Safety Board,” the company said in a statement.

 

-0-   PANA TWA/RA  10Mar2019