The flight data recorder of the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed off the coast of Lebanon two weeks ago killing all 90 people on board has been sent to Paris for analysis.
Ethiopian Airlines officials reported today that Lebanese navy divers retrieved only one of the two black boxes from Flight 409 from the Mediterranean Sea where the plane crashed on Jan. 25. "The flight data recorder has been recovered and was sent to Paris to be analyzed," Desta Zeru, the airline's chief operating officer told VOA. "However, the cockpit voice recorder has not been found and we are trying to recover the device to completely analyze the data."
Lebanese Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi told media on Sunday that searchers also located the cockpit and parts of the fuselage Sunday. Eight more bodies from the crash were recovered, bringing the total to 23. Ethiopian Airlines chief executive officer Girma Wake told VOA that only six Ethiopian bodies were recovered from the ill-fated Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
Speculations
Over the past two weeks speculation has continued over the cause of this air
tragedy.
Lebanese transportation minister Ghazi Aridi said the plane abruptly changed direction shortly after take-off, and the pilot appeared unresponsive to directions from the control tower to correct the plane's course. Lebanese Civil Aviation chief Hamdi Chaouk and Ethiopian Airlines officials have cautioned against speculation on why the plane abruptly changes course after take-off from Rafiki Hariri International Airport in Beirut on a flight to Addis Ababa.
Speculations
Over the past two weeks speculation has continued over the cause of this air tragedy.
Last week, Palestinian newspapers published unconfirmed
reports that Hezbollah leaders might have been targeted in the plane; saying
the Ethiopian jet was brought down by weapon attacks.
According to eye witnesses, the jet broke apart in mid-air, erupted into flames
and crashed into the sea. Officials in charge of the investigation said no one
knows the cause of the tragedy yet.
Ethiopian Airlines is considered one of Africa's safest and most respected
carriers. It operates regular flights to Lebanon, where thousands of Ethiopians
work.
