ET409: Pilot error, inexperience blamed for the crash

The preliminary report on the crash of Ethiopian airliner flight ET409 in Lebanon in which all 90 people on board died earlier this year, indicates that both the pilot’s and co-pilot’s inexperience with the jet was “certainly behind the accident”, according to local reports.

The pilot had one month of experience with the Boeing 737-800 and his co-pilot had four months experience, he added. (more…)

HRW: Mideast maids unprotected from abuse

Human Rights Watch said Thursday that reforms undertaken by governments in the Middle East to protect domestic workers from abuse are insufficient

ET409: Hariri to brief families of victims on crash report

Prime Minister Saad Hariri informed ministers that he would brief the families of the victims of the Ethiopian plane crash on the investigative committee’s preliminary report on the incident, Information Minister Tarek Mitri said following the Wednesday meeting of the cabinet.

Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi proposed for ministers relevant to the investigation to prepare a detailed proposal involving financial rewards to employees who took part in rescue operations of the ill-fated Ethiopian plane. (more…)

ET409: Airline accuses authorities of misleading investigation

Ethiopian Airlines chief Girma Wake accused Lebanese authorities on Wednesday of making misleading comments on the cause of the Ethiopian plane’s crash in January. Wake said that his main concern is with “the authorities who come out with guesses every morning,” rather than the investigators. “I am not happy with the way they are handling it,” he added. (more…)

South Lebanon bids farewell Friday to a victim of ET409 crash

Tomorrow the city of Nabatiyeh in south Lebanon will bid farewell to Ahmad Jabel who was killed in the Ethiopian Airline flight ET409 crash . 15 passengers from Nabatiyeh were on that same flight and all are feared dead

Lebanon emergency cabinet session at the Grand Serail

The emergency cabinet session has started at the Grand Serail and is being chaired by PM Saad Hariri. The cabinet is expected to discuss the latest development of ET409 crash and the Municipal elections

Lebanese army identifies location of ET409 wreckage and black boxes

The  Lebanese army has identified the location of the flight recorders   ( black boxes)   and the wreckage of the  Ethiopian   as being about 8 km ( 5 miles )  from the Beirut  airport and at  a depth of 1300 meters ( 4262 ft).  New TV has reported   that  these need  highly sophisticated and technologically advanced  equipment in order to be recovered  and their recovery  will take several days

ET409 crash: Aridi says progress has been made

Lebanon’s Transportation and Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi revealed Wednesday that some progress has been made in finding the plane’s body and expected positive results by early morning Thursday.

“The search will continue overnight, and we hope to have located the remains of the aircraft by Thursday morning,” Aridi told AFP.

“But the sea bottom is not flat — there are trenches,” he added. “If the wreckage is not located in one of the trenches, we’re going to be needing equipment different from what we are using now.”

“The more the weather improves the better for the search,” Aridi said, noting sunny skies on Wednesday and a calm sea.

Questions have been raised over whether the crash was caused by storms or missiles. The black black boxes will provide the answers according to Aridi.

ET409 crash: Hezbollah denies its delegation missed the flight

Hezbollah denied on Wednesday a report in Al-Liwaa newspaper that a high-profile party delegation missed boarding the crashed Ethiopian airliner.

The party added that the daily based its false information on rumors about Hezbollah MP Nawwar al-Sahili’s travel plans. According to Hezbollah, the unfounded report harms the families of the victims as well as the party.

Al-Liwaa has reportedly based its hypothesis on Hezbollah’s unusual concern about the catastrophe and the fact that a Hezbollah delegation, including Hashem Safieddine and MP Nawar al-Sahili, was supposed to be on the plane.

Al-Liwaa also pointed to Hezbollah’s noteworthy presence at the funeral of one of the plane victims identified as Hassan Tajeddine in the southern town of Hinawaya.

Speculation about what happened to ET409 flight has escalated . Al-Liwaa said the crash is likely a “deliberate” attack, while al Asharq al-Awsat newspaper did not rule out “sabotage” . OTV television station which which is owned by MP Michel Aoun , a close ally of Hezbollah cited official circles as saying that the Ethiopian plane was likely hit by a rocket.

Lebanese Minister of Transportation Ghazi Aridi cautioned against blaming anyone at this stage of the investigation and said the black boxes once found will provide the answers

ET409 crash mystery: Storms or sabotage?

Stormy weather or sabotage are being cited in the aviation world as possible factors in the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 409 off Beirut.