Ethiopian Airlines air crash is the second involving brand new Boeing 737 in just three months after 189 were killed in Indonesia tragedy
- Boeing 737 Max 8 which crashed today is the same model as Indonesia disaster
- Both planes went down in a nosedive, minutes after requesting to return to base
- It is Ethiopia Airlines' third massive disaster in 30 years after crashes which killed 125 in 1996 and 90 in 2010
- Less than a month after the Indonesian crash, the FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive about the plane, warning a fault could lead to crashes
The tragic deaths of 157 passengers and crew today, when an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft crashed within minutes of take-off in Addis Ababa, are raising serious questions over the safety record of both aircraft and airline.
It was on another brand new Boeing 737 Max 8, in Indonesia less than five months ago, that 189 people lost their lives in the Java Sea when Lion Air Flight 610 plummeted out of the skies minutes after taking off from Jakarta.
And the incident brings the African carrier's death toll to 482 across 22 fatal incidents since its inception in 1965 - and almost 500 more people have been injured in EA crashes and incidents, according to information from the Flight Safety Foundation.
For comparison, only one British Airways flight has only ever been involved in one fatal incident: the Zagreb runway crash of 1976 when all 176 people aboard two planes died when BA Flight 476 collided with another aircraft on takeoff due to an air traffic control error.
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 went down within six minutes of take-off this morning (pictured: stock image)
Initial reports today show considerable similarities between the Ethiopian and Indonesian disasters which involve the same plane.
Today's flight lost contact about six minutes after take-off, having requested and been given clearance to return to the airport in Abbis Ababa.
Last year, Lion Air 610 also went down minutes after take-off having requested permission to return to base.
Today, telemetry shows the plane's vertical airspeed fluctuated rapidly in the minutes and second before its crash, including in the final moments when it seems to have been locked in a terrifyingly accelerating nosedive,.
Investigations thus far by the Indonesian and American aviation authorities have concluded the Lion Air plane also hit the sea after a violent nosedive.
Rescue team collect bodies in bags at the crash site of Ethiopia Airlines near Bishoftu, a town some 60 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa
The wreckage of the plane - showing the colours of the Ethiopian flag on the plane's livery - lies at the scene of the crash
As in the case of October's Lion Air crash - also suffered by a Boeing 737 Max 8 - the plane seems to have suffered a rapid increase in vertical speed in the moments before its crash
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
The New York Times reports today that investigators are considering whether that dive might have been caused by updated Boeing software that was meant to prevent a stall - but that can send the plane into a fatal descent if the altitude and angle information being fed into the computer system is incorrect.
The change in the flight control system, which can override manual motions in the Max model, was not explained to pilots, according to some pilots' unions.
After that crash, Boeing said that it was continuing 'to evaluate the need for software or other changes as we learn more from the ongoing investigation.' It was unclear if the company had made any changes.
Today the Daily Telegraph reported that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive in November last year in relation to one of the flight systems on the Boeing 737-8 and 737-9 series of aircraft.
That was published following the crash of Lion Air flight 610 on October 29.
The FAA directive warned that an 'angle of attack' censor, which is supposed to help to prevent a plane from stalling, could lead to an 'excessive nose-down attitude, significant altitude loss, and possible impact with the terrain'.
This 'unsafe condition … is likely to exist or develop' in the Boeing 737-8 and 737-9 designs, the directive concluded.
Boeing last night announced it will be sending a technical assistance team to the site of the crash.
When asked by the paper about the travel alert appearing to coincide with the crash, a US State Department official said: 'On March 8, US Embassy Addis Ababa released an alert related to concerns about traffic in the city due to expected protests.
Due to those concerns, US government travellers were advised not to arrive or depart Bole International Airport. The restriction on travel to and from the airport was lifted on March 9.'
In a statement on Sunday, Boeing said it was 'deeply saddened' to learn of the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
'A Boeing technical team is prepared to provide technical assistance at the request and under the direction of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board,' the company said.
Ethiopian Airlines hopes to become the most prominent airline on the continent. Pictured: A man looks at his phone outside the Ethiopian Airlines offices in downtown Nairobi, Kenya
The state-owned Ethiopian Airlines calls itself Africa's largest carrier and has ambitions of becoming the gateway to the continent.
The airline does have a better safety rating and a newer fleet than some neighbouring operators - a number of African airlines are banned outright from EU airspace including the flag-carrier of neighbouring Eritrea.
But in addition to 16 fatal incidents costing 102 lives in the 1960s, 70s, and 1980s; the airline has now suffered six fatal incidents in the last thirty years, including other two huge tragedies.
In 1996 after a hijacking and a failed water landing, 125 people died on Flight 961 in Moroni, the capital of the Union of the Comoros in the Indian Ocean.
And in January 2010, 82 passengers and eight crew died when EA flight 409 from Beirut to Addis Ababa slammed into the Mediterranean shortly after take-off.
The Lion Air aircraft crashed in October about 13 minutes after taking off for Indonesia
Human remains were placed in body bags after being recovered from the scene of the crash off Indonesia
Boeing's 737 is the world's most-sold passenger jet family and is considered one of the industry's most reliable.
The MAX 8 is the latest version of the aircraft, which Boeing rolled out in 2017 as an update to the already redesigned 50-year-old 737.
By the end of January, Boeing had delivered 350 MAX jets out of the total order tally of 5,011 aircraft.
British victims on Ethiopian Airlines flight include UN worker, 36, whose father warned her not to catch doomed flight and polar expert who were both among the 157 killed when it crashed
- Animal welfare campaigner Joanna Toole, 36, was one of seven British victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash
- All 149 passengers and eight crew were killed when the Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed within minutes of take-off
- Flight-tracking data showed the plane's speed fluctuating wildly in the final seconds before the crash today
- Ms Toole was one of a group of UN workers on board travelling to an environment conference in Nairobi
Joanna Toole (pictured) has been named as one of the British victims of the air disaster in Ethiopia
A 36-year-old animal welfare campaigner and a polar expert on her way to tackle plastic pollution were among seven Britons killed in the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday.
The Boeing 737 Max 8 jet crashed within minutes of its take-off from Addis Ababa, losing and gaining speed dramatically in its final seconds after setting off for Nairobi.
The crash on Sunday morning killed all 149 passengers -- including seven Britons, one Irishman and eight Americans - as well as eight crew members.
British victim Joanna Toole, from Exmouth, Devon, was among at least 12 passengers who were travelling to a UN environment meeting in the Kenyan capital.
Paying tribute today, her father Adrian called her a 'very soft and loving person' whose work with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation was 'not a job but a vocation'.
Mr Toole said she had flown around the world but added: 'Personally I never wanted her to be on a single one of those planes.'
Polar expert Sarah Auffret, who had French and British dual nationality, was also killed in the crash. Colleagues paid tribute to her as a 'true friend and beloved colleague'.
Another victim was named as Joseph Waithaka, a native Kenyan who lived in Hull for more than a decade and was on his way home from visiting his family in the city.
Flight-tracking data revealed that the plane's vertical speed - the rate of climb or descent - varied from 2,624 feet per minute to minus 1,216 within minutes of take-off.
According to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, the plane, which was new and was delivered to the airline last November, 'had unstable vertical speed' shortly after take off.
Aviation experts described this as extremely unusual because once a plane has taken off the vertical speed should rise or remain stable.
Sarah Auffret (pictured), a French-British dual national, has been identified as a victim of the Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302
The graphic shows how the plane's vertical speed fluctuated in the minute before it crashed near Addis Ababa airport
Rescue team collect bodies in bags at the crash site of Ethiopia Airlines near Bishoftu, a town some 60 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa
Mr Toole said Joanna's partner had called him with the news that his daughter had been on board the doomed flight, on her way to represent the UN's fisheries wing at the environment assembly.
He said: 'Joanna's work was not a job - it was her vocation. She never really wanted to do anything else but work in animal welfare since she was a child.
'Somehow that work took her into the international sphere and for the last 15 years she has been working for international animal welfare organisations.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
'That involves a lot of travelling around the world - although personally I never wanted her to be on a single one of those planes.
'I'm an environmental campaigner myself, so partly it was because of the damage to the environment but also because it's a dangerous occupation to be flying. Up until now she had been lucky.
'Joanna was a very soft and loving person. Everybody was very proud of her and the work she did. We're still in a state of shock.
Joanna Toole, pictured, was the first British victim to be named. Paying tribute her father Adrian said she was a 'very soft and loving person' whose work with the United Nations was 'not a job but a vocation'
Wreckage lies at the crash site after the Ethiopian Airlines jet came down within minutes of take-off on Sunday morning
'Joanna was genuinely one of those people who you never heard a bad word about. She was one of those people who burned the candle at both ends.
'I have just come off the phone with her boss, the assistant director general at the UN who has told me her work will not finish - they will carry on.
'She never had any doubt that she wanted to work in animal welfare and on the international scene, that meant a lot of travel. It's hard to imagine life without her. We've been told there are no survivors so we're guessing this is the end.'
One of her UN colleagues, Manuel Barange, called her a 'wonderful human being who loved her work with a passion', saying he was 'so profoundly sad and lost for words' at the news of her death.
According to her LinkedIn page she had worked for the UN since 2016, living in Rome where she recently set up home with her partner.
She previously worked at World Animal Protection and Animal Defenders International, after graduating from Anglia Ruskin University in 2004 with a degree in Animal Behaviour and Wildlife Biology.
Ms Toole, pictured, was one of 149 passengers killed
In a blog she wrote when she worked for WAP she described herself as a keen diver, adding: 'I'm committed to the protection of all animals, but the underwater world and the animals within it are my greatest passion.'
She also describes herself as a 'lover of yoga and vegan foodie' and has campaigned to reduce Britain's plastic consumption.
Another victim, 55-year-old Joseph Waithaka, lived in Hull for more than a decade before returning to his native Kenya in 2015.
He had been visiting his wife and children, who still live in Hull, and was on his way back to Kenya via Ethiopia when he boarded the doomed flight.
Meanwhile polar expert Sarah Auffret, a French-British dual national, died on the flight as she made her way to Nairobi to talk about a Clean Seas project.
'Words cannot describe the sorrow and despair we feel. We have lost a true friend and beloved colleague,' her employers at the Norway-based Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators said.
Irishman Michael Ryan (pictured left), who worked for the UN's World Food Programme, and Kenyan national Joseph Waithaka (right) - who used to live in Hull - were also among of the 149 passengers killed
Hospitality company Tamarind Group announced 'with immense shock and grief' that its chief executive Jonathan Seex (pictured) was among the fatalities
Mr Waithaka worked for the probation service during his time in Hull and his family said he had 'helped so many people' during his time in England.
His son, Ben Kuria, said: 'My dad was a private man but he also had a pastoral heart. He really championed people. He really helped people realise their potential.
'He would tell stories which would inspire the young people he was helping who were not at a great time in their lives.
'As a father he was very protective and he really wanted us to do well. He supported us and ensured we got stuck into our education. He really rooted for his children.'
Tonight Prime Minister Theresa May said she was 'deeply saddened to hear of the devastating loss of life following the plane crash in Ethiopia'.
'At this very difficult time my thoughts are with the families and friends of the British citizens on board and all those affected by this tragic incident,' she said.
The one Irish victim was named as engineer Michael Ryan, an employee of the UN's World Food Programme - which said seven of its staff members had died in the crash, including two Italians.
The Rome-based aid worker and engineer, known as Mick, was from Lahinch in Co Clare in Ireland's west and was believed to be married with two children.
The wreckage of the plane - showing the colours of the Ethiopian flag on the plane's livery - lies at the scene of the crash
The families of those on the plane have been arriving at special information centres to find out their next steps
Family members of the victims involved in a plane crash react at Addis Ababa international airport Sunday, hours after their loves ones took off
A spokesman said: 'I can very, very sadly confirm that Michael Ryan worked for WFP and was based at our headquarters in Rome and was among those killed on ET 302. All of WFP's thoughts and condolences are with the families of those killed.'
Irish premier Leo Varadkar said: 'Michael was doing life-changing work in Africa with the World Food Programme. Deepest sympathies to family, colleagues and friends.'
Representatives of the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees and an employee of the World Bank also lost their lives in the disaster.
Aviation expert Sally Gethin said the plane's rapidly fluctuating speed may indicate that the aircraft stalled in the moments before it crashed.
She said: 'It's the rate of climb or descent - the most critical phases of flight. Instability at that point e.g. too slow - could destabilise the aircraft, potentially risking stalling and other hazardous consequences. It might indicate the pilots had difficulty controlling the climb/ascent.'
An experienced pilot told MailOnline the activity was highly unusual.
He said: 'A positive number indicates the aircraft is going up. After takeoff you would expect all these numbers to be positive as the aircraft climbed away from the ground, or zero if they are flying level. The small amount of data released so far indicates that after only one minute or so of the flight this aircraft started a descent at a rate of up to 1920 feet per minute down. If the data is correct that is extremely unusual.
Ethiopia Airlines group CEO, Mr Tewolde Gebremariam, who is pictured at the accident scene. Firefighters spent hours trying to get to the scene
Wreckage lies at the crash site of Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 which came down en route to Nairobi
Part of the plane lies on the ground near Bishoftu following the crash on Sunday morning in which 157 people were killed
Lucky passenger avoids crash after missing flight
A passenger has spoken of his relief after he missed the doomed Ethiopian Airlines flight.
Ahmed Khalid was connecting in Addis Ababa on his way from Dubai to Nairobi but the first half of his trip was delayed.
As a result he missed the ill-fated flight and boarded a later connection to Kenya.
He said passengers were asking the cabin crew what had happened but received little information, Global News reported.
Upon arrival in Nairobi he was greeted by his equally relieved father, Khalid Bzambur.
Passenger Ahmed Khalid (left), who missed the doomed Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 while connecting from Dubai, meets his father Khalid Bzambur (right) in Nairobi
'The data then shows the aircraft going up and down until the data stops. That is why some people are referring to unstable vertical speed. You would not expect a descent unless you were immediately returning, and if that was the case you wouldn't then expect the aircraft to climb again. After takeoff aircraft either climb or fly level for a period then climb again.'
Boeing said it was 'deeply saddened' by news of the crash and would sent technical experts to Ethiopia to help investigate the crash.
As many as 50 delegates are believed to have been on the plane heading to the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, which begins tomorrow.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres confirmed there were UN staff on board, offering his 'heartfelt condolences' to their families.
The plane came down near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of the capital. A witness told the BBC it took rescuers until 11am to arrive.
Witness Bekele Gutema said: 'The blast and the fire were so strong that we couldn't get near it. Everything is burnt down.'
The pilot had sent out a distress call and was given the all clear to return, according to the airline's chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam.
Senior captain Yared Getachew had a "commendable performance" having completed more than 8,000 hours in the air, the airline said.
The plane had flown from Johannesburg to Addis earlier on Sunday morning, and had undergone a "rigorous" testing on February 4, a statement continued.
Boeing has said it will send a forensic team out to the crash site however it has been a site of activity all day with dozens of locals crossing on foot and big machinery being driven over
Pictures from the wreckage show people's shoes and burned bags scattered across the ground after the crash in Ethiopia
A relative reacts as he leaves the information centre following the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi
Debris from the plane is strewn around the area while locals comb the area for any signs of survival from the crash
After the news all onboard had died families cried and talked on the phone at the airport. Families have said they are being told nothing about what has happened
A woman reacts as she waits for the updated flight information of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302, where her fiance was onboard at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi, Kenya
Family members arrive at Bole International airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after hearing news of the crash
The plane, a 737 MAX 8, is believed to be a new addition to the EA fleet having been delivered last year - and is the same model as the Lion Air plane which crashed in Indonesia in October.
Boeing issued a safety warning last November about its new 737 Max jets which could have a fault that causes them to nose-dive. The MAX-8 planes were launched in 2016 and are used by major airlines all around the world.
While it remains unclear what happened onboard, there was a an urgent investigation in Indonesia in November 2018 - calling for all MAX jets to be inspected after the crash.
The state-owned Ethiopian Airlines calls itself Africa's largest carrier and has ambitions of becoming the gateway to the continent.
Ethiopian Airlines said they had contacted the victims' families and said the bodies would be returned home once they had been identified.
Anton Hrnko, an MP for the nationalist Slovak National Party, said he was 'in deep grief' to announce that his wife Blanka, daughter Michala and son Martin were among the dead.
Abiodun Oluremi Bashua, a Nigerian former ambassador who had worked as a diplomat in Iran, Austria and Ivory Coast, was also killed.
Hospitality company Tamarind Group announced 'with immense shock and grief' that its chief executive Jonathan Seex was among the fatalities.
Hussein Swaleh, the former secretary general of the Football Kenya Federation, was also named as being among the dead by Sofapaka Football Club.
Rescue team walk past collected bodies in bags at the crash site of Ethiopia Airlines near Bishoftu, a town some 60 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa
The scene of the crash on rural land in Ethiopia. All people onboard the plane died on Sunday, the airline later confirmed
But relatives in Nairobi said they had not been told anything - and that they only heard about the crash on Facebook - despite being at the airport waiting for loved ones.
Wendy Otieno told Reuters: 'We're just waiting for my mum. We're just hoping she took a different flight or was delayed. She's not picking up her phone.'
Peter Kimani told AFP as he sat in the arrivals lounge he was waiting for his sister who had been on a mission to the Congo as a nurse.
'I am still hoping that all is fine, because I have been waiting for my sister since morning and we have not been told anything,' he said.
A spokesman for the airline confirmed the plane had crashed while heading from Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. It was due to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at around 10.25am.
The airline's statement said: 'At this time search and rescue operations are in progress and we have no information about survivors or any possible casualties.'
One woman was seen in tears this morning as she waited for news of her fiancé.
Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Tewolde GebreMariam inspects the newly-arrived Boeing 737 Max 8 months before the crash
An Ethiopian Airports fire engine rushes to the scene of the crash on Sunday morning. It took them until 11am to get there
The loved ones of plane passengers heading to Nairobi are waiting for news at the airport although there is 'little' information
The plane had been heading towards Nairobi when it came down in Ethiopia. It was just 31 miles from Addis Ababa Airport
The plane had reportedly travelled for six minutes when it came down to the ground
Ethiopian Airlines hopes to become the most prominent airline on the continent. Pictured: A man looks at his phone outside the Ethiopian Airlines offices in downtown Nairobi, Kenya
Ethiopian Airlines Corporate Communications Director Asrat Begashaw said there were 33 nationalities on board the plane when it crashed. Among the dead are believed to be eight Chinese people.
The Ethiopian prime minister's official Twitter account on Sunday sent condolences to families of those onboard.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's Twitter said: 'The office of the PM, on behalf of government and people of Ethiopia, would like to express it's deepest condolences to the families that have lost their loved ones on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 on regular scheduled flight to Nairobi, Kenya this morning.'
A Djiboutian national Hiba (L) is comforted by a relative as she waits for details of her loved one that was on board the flight Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi
Passengers wait outside the Bole International airport Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Families returned to the airport to try and get news of the crash
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta offered his 'prayers' to all the families and associates of those on board the plane.
'We are saddened by the news of an Ethiopian Airlines passenger aircraft that is reported to have crashed 6 minutes after takeoff en route to Kenya,' he wrote on Twitter.
Max Kingsley-Jones, group editor of online news site Flight Global, said Ethiopian Airlines has a 'great reputation' in the aviation world.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: 'Ethiopian [Airlines] is really the jewel in the crown for Africa's airlines. In fact, international airlines across the world look up to Ethiopian.
'It's got a fantastic network, it's got a great reputation and it has a fleet to go with that operation.
'It operates long-haul aircraft, all the latest technology... and then on short-haul it's got [Boeing] 737s.'
Flights out of Addis Ababa were delayed or cancelled on Sunday morning, it has been reported. A control centre phone number is being set up for the loved ones of those who were onboard.
A flight information board displaying the details of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 is seen at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
Boeing 737 Max jets investigated after Indonesia plane crash:
Boeing issued a safety warning last November about its new 737 Max jets which could have a fault that causes them to nose-dive.
The special bulletin sent to operators was about a sensor problem flagged by Indonesian safety officials investigating the crash of a Lion Air 737 that killed 189 people just a week before the memo was sent.
Since the 737 Max was unveiled in 2017, 350 of the jets have been bought, with around a further future 4,761 orders placed.
More than 40 airlines around the world use the 737 Max, which has four kinds in the fleet, numbered 7, 8, 9 and 10.
Airlines such as Norwegian Air, Air China, TUI, Air Canada, United Airlines, American Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Icelandair and FlyDubai.
The 8 series, which was involved in the crash in Indonesia, has been flying the longest of all the Maxes.
Boeing said in November that local aviation officials believed pilots may have been given wrong information by the plane's automated systems before the fatal crash.
An AOA sensor provides data about the angle at which wind is passing over the wings and tells pilots how much lift a plane is getting.
According to a technical log the Lion Air plane, which had only been in service a few months, suffered instrument problems the day before because of an 'unreliable' airspeed reading.
The MAX models are relatively new but has already been investigated after problems reported. Pictured: Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 (stock image)
Minutes after takeoff the plane suddenly nose-dived hitting speeds of 600mph before slamming into the sea.
The warning issued today read: 'The Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee has indicated that Lion Air flight 610 experienced erroneous input from one of its AOA (Angle of Attack) sensors.
'Boeing issued an Operations Manual Bulletin (OMB) directing operators to existing flight crew procedures to address circumstances where there is erroneous input from an AOA sensor.'
As a result of an investigation into the crash the jet manufacturer is said to be preparing a bulletin to be sent to operators of the 737 jets warning about faulty cockpit readings that could cause a dive.
The notice refers to the 'angle of attack', which is the angle of the wing relative to oncoming air stream, a measure that indicates if a plane is likely to stall.
This angle of attack, which is a calculation of the angle at which the wind is passing over the wings, is used to be determined if a stall is imminent.
Inspectors found faults on two other Boeing 737 MAX jets, including one which mirrored a problem reported on board the Lion Air plane.
Ethiopian Airlines air crash is the second involving brand new Boeing 737 in just three months after 189 were killed in Indonesia tragedy
By Joel Adams for MailOnline
The tragic deaths of 157 passengers and crew today, when an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft crashed within minutes of take-off in Addis Ababa, are raising serious questions over the safety record of both aircraft and airline.
It was on another brand new Boeing 737 Max 8, in Indonesia less than five months ago, that 189 people lost their lives in the Java Sea when Lion Air Flight 610 plummeted out of the skies minutes after taking off from Jakarta.
And the incident brings the African carrier's death toll to 482 across 22 fatal incidents since its inception in 1965 - and almost 500 more people have been injured in EA crashes and incidents, according to information from the Flight Safety Foundation.
For comparison, only one British Airways flight has only ever been involved in one fatal incident: the Zagreb runway crash of 1976 when all 176 people aboard two planes died when BA Flight 476 collided with another aircraft on takeoff due to an air traffic control error.
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 went down within six minutes of take-off this morning (pictured: stock image)
Initial reports today show considerable similarities between the Ethiopian and Indonesian disasters which involve the same plane.
Today's flight lost contact about six minutes after take-off, having requested and been given clearance to return to the airport in Abbis Ababa.
Last year, Lion Air 610 also went down minutes after take-off having requested permission to return to base.
Today, telemetry shows the plane's vertical airspeed fluctuated rapidly in the minutes and second before its crash, including in the final moments when it seems to have been locked in a terrifyingly accelerating nosedive,.
Investigations thus far by the Indonesian and American aviation authorities have concluded the Lion Air plane also hit the sea after a violent nosedive.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
The New York Times reports today that investigators are considering whether that dive might have been caused by updated Boeing software that was meant to prevent a stall - but that can send the plane into a fatal descent if the altitude and angle information being fed into the computer system is incorrect.
The change in the flight control system, which can override manual motions in the Max model, was not explained to pilots, according to some pilots' unions.
After that crash, Boeing said that it was continuing 'to evaluate the need for software or other changes as we learn more from the ongoing investigation.' It was unclear if the company had made any changes.
In a statement on Sunday, Boeing said it was 'deeply saddened' to learn of the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
Indonesian emergency services carry a body bag in the wake of the Lion Air disaster last year
'A Boeing technical team is prepared to provide technical assistance at the request and under the direction of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board,' the company said.
The state-owned Ethiopian Airlines calls itself Africa's largest carrier and has ambitions of becoming the gateway to the continent.
The airline does have a better safety rating and a newer fleet than some neighbouring operators - a number of African airlines are banned outright from EU airspace including the flag-carrier of neighbouring Eritrea.
But in addition to 16 fatal incidents costing 102 lives in the 1960s, 70s, and 1980s; the airline has now suffered six fatal incidents in the last thirty years, including other two huge tragedies.
In 1996 after a hijacking and a failed water landing, 125 people died on Flight 961 in Moroni, the capital of the Union of the Comoros in the Indian Ocean.
And in January 2010, 82 passengers and eight crew died when EA flight 409 from Beirut to Addis Ababa slammed into the Mediterranean shortly after take-off.
Boeing's 737 is the world's most-sold passenger jet family and is considered one of the industry's most reliable.
The MAX 8 is the latest version of the aircraft, which Boeing rolled out in 2017 as an update to the already redesigned 50-year-old 737.
By the end of January, Boeing had delivered 350 MAX jets out of the total order tally of 5,011 aircraft.
Read more:
