Plane controls responsible for Ethiopia crash: Report

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - The "controllability" of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 was responsible for the aircraft’s crash just six minutes after takeoff from the country’s capital, according to a preliminary investigation.

A report on the probe was officially released on Thursday in a press briefing by Ethiopian Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges, Accident Investigation Bureau chief Amdeye Fanta and civil aviation authority head Wossenyeleh Hunegnaw.

On March 10, Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET-302 involving Boeing 737 Max crashed shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa airport, killing all 157 on board.

Underlining that the pilots had implemented all the "right procedures" before the crash, Dagmawit said the plane had gone out of control because of its maneuvering (MCAS) system that set it on autopilot and caused it to nosedive.

"The plane had valid certification, its pilots had the capability and licenses and the plane took off in the right direction and trajectory," she said.

Ethiopia led the investigation that involved stakeholders including Ethiopia, the U.S. -- as the country of design and manufacture -- and other experts from around the world.

According to Dagmawit, 18 aviation and transport experts from the U.S., France and EU and others were involved in the investigation, and there was "no reservation on the report from anyone."

The investigation, meanwhile, determined that the plane had not suffered damage from a "foreign object" causing the crash.

It recommended that Boeing "review the controllability system of the plane."

Meanwhile, Amdeye Fanta said: "There was no interference from anyone in the investigation. We got advice from the experts involved."

A final report on the accident is expected to be released within one year, said Dagmawit.