Ethiopian Airlines: Pilots of Crashed Aircraft Followed Recommended Procedure

AIB to release final reports on Delta Airlines’ incident

Chinedu Eze

Ethiopian Airlines has stated that the preliminary report on the accident of Flight ET 302 on March 10, 2019, has confirmed that the pilots followed recommended procedures but were unable to control the aircraft.

This is coming as the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has said it will release six final reports of accidents and incidents on the April 25, 2019, which would include the serious incident involving Delta Air Lines’ Airbus A330-223 of February 14, 2018.

The ET Flight 302 crashed six minutes into flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, killing 157 persons on board.
The airlines also said the preliminary report indicated that the aircraft’s airworthiness was certified and that the crew was capable of flying the aircraft.

In a statement it issued yesterday in Addis Ababa and made available to THISDAY, the airline said, “The preliminary report clearly showed that the Ethiopian Airlines’ pilots who were commanding Flight ET 302/10 March have followed the Boeing- recommended and Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) -approved emergency procedures to handle the most difficult emergency situation created on the airplane.

“Despite their hard work and full compliance with the emergency procedures, it was very unfortunate that they could not recover the airplane from the persistence of nose diving.

“As the investigation continues with more detailed analysis, as usual we will continue with our full cooperation with the investigation team.”
Group Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam, said he was proud of the pilots’ compliance to emergency procedures and high level of professional performances in such extremely difficult situations.
“We are also very proud of our Global Standard Pilot Training Center and the Ethiopian Aviation Academy which are some of the largest and most modern in the world equipped with state of the art and latest training technologies,” GebreMariam said.

AIB to Release Final Reports on Delta Air Lines, Others

Meanwhile, the AIB has said it will release six final reports of accidents and incidents on the April 25, 2019, which would include the serious incident involving Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-223 of February 14, 2018.
The Delta Air Lines flight after take-off suffered engine failure as one of its engines caught fire, causing the aircraft to return to base – Lagos airport – after take-off.

The Commissioner of AIB, Akin Olateru, made this known yesterday in his keynote address at the AIB 2019 Stakeholders’ Forum, which was on the review of the Accident Investigation Bureau Regulations 2016 and its implications on stakeholders.

According to Olateru, apart from the Delta Air Lines report, other final reports to be released are the Cessna 208B Caravan with registration 5N-BMJ belonging to late former governor Danbaba Suntai, which occurred on October 25, 2012; and the Diamond DA40 aircraft belonging to International Aviation College ( IAC) Ilorin with registration 5N-BRD on November 25, 2013.

Other incidents include the 2018 Dana Air runway incident in Port Harcourt, Bristow Helicopters’ Sikorsky S76C++ with registration 5N-BQJ of February 3, 2016; and the Gulfstream 2000 belonging to NestOil with registration number 5N-SRI in February 2018.

Olateru said he had sent the report of the Delta incident to the aircraft manufacturer, Airbus for the 60-day review before the release of the report and it returned from the manufacturers with “No Comment,” which implies that a great deal of confidence is reposed in that final report.

The AIB commissioner also revealed that the bureau is in the process of signing an agreement with France so that AIB can handle investigations of French-speaking West African countries’ incidents, adding that “they appreciate what we are doing here,” which means that “we are doing something right.”

In his welcome address, the Managing Director of Spring Fountain, Tunde Fagbemi, said accidents were a series of activities that occurred but were preventable.

“An accident is not what needs to happen, but it is something that we need to prevent. An accident is a culmination of many events and the most fundamental objective of AIB is safety and issuing safety recommendations for the betterment of the industry,” he said.