Ethiopian 737-800 crashes into the Mediterranean (25/01/10)

[BrightCedars]

According to news reports in the online Lebanese press, the tower would have repeatedly warned the pilots to avoid the storm after take-off, without reaction. This seems to be based on recording at the tower. Now we need to get the black boxes to know more.

[regi]

more details:
the airplane was flying in the opposite direction, was warned about it but did not respond.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8480569.stm

[b720]

Regi, and others. speculation is unacceptable. Wait for the rsults of the investigation. Speculations otherwise is disrespectful to all involved. Lightning or other is unaccaptable as we do not know ANYTHING yet.

[regi]

Regi, and others. speculation is unacceptable. Wait for the rsults of the investigation. Speculations otherwise is disrespectful to all involved. Lightning or other is unaccaptable as we do not know ANYTHING yet.

This is a forum and we are allowed to share our thinking, as long as we don't humiliate/discriminate other people.
Speculation is one thing. Sharing FACTS is something else. You are wrong that we don't know anything. We know that plural witnesses have seen a fire ball. That is not speculation.

You tell us to wait for the results of the investigation. Which investigation? Do you consider that statement from that Lebanese minister reliable when he says that there is no faul play involved, before there is any proof available? He made that statement, not me.
Do we have to wait for the statement from Boeing? How reliable is that, considering the actions that relatives of the Turkish Airlines crash take now against Boeing?
Do we have to wait untill Ethiopian Airlines makes another great statement about their new orders?

facts:

• plural witnesses have seen a fire ball ( falling from the sky )
  it was bad weather with thunder and rain ( lightning has not been mentioned )
  the airplane was flying in the opposite direction and did not respond to the traffic control its remarks and questions.
  the Lebanese military confirms that the airplane was on fire shortly after take off or departure.
  the Lebanese minister his first statement is full of groundless speculation.

I have made it clear now 3 times that I mention facts. The next time somebody tells me not to speculate I will start to speculate. You would be surprised which possible causes there are of airplane crashes.

[TCAS_climb]

The only place were speculation is unacceptable is the accident report. Even the families are speculating right now, it's part of the grief and healing process following an immense stress and the loss of loved ones. Human beings need to share their feelings to stay connected with a reality that's just too hard to absorbe silently, or to try to relief the anxiety generated by a devastating news. That's the way the brain is wired up and you cannot stop it from running 24/7.

[regi]

well, on Airliners they are going on full throttle with speculations. And nobody seems to care. There is even a movie on Youtube showing flashes.
I didn't read any reaction from a relative who finds it disgusting that strangers speculate about this crash.
By the way B720: I have special interest in Ethiopian Airlines because I consider them a possebility to fly cheaply to South-Africa.

[b720]

and I have flown the path of that doomed ET flight, over 200 times in my life..and plan to do so in the near future

[b720]

You should still consider flying with them, regi.. it's a reliable airline..we still fly AF, LX, etc.. after their crashes..

[regi]

You should still consider flying with them, regi.. it's a reliable airline..we still fly AF, LX, etc.. after their crashes..

I didn't make any assumption about not flying with them anymore because of this crash.
But I appreciate it that you want to confort me to keep it in mind to use their services. I will do. Seriously.

• btw: I have flown the MD-11 of Swissair that crashed and flew Swissair still afterwards.
  I was on that Turkish Airlines A340 bird that hit a truck last week and we may say that this accident (that killed 1 ground crew ) could have been a major disaster if that plane would have been damaged full of fuel.
  I missed the helicopter flight Vung Tau - Con Dao island which crashed some time afterwards.
  I tried to take a Vietnam Airlines flight despite the Yak-40 crash but ended up some weeks later in a leased ex TEA B737 instead of an adventurous trip in a Russian bird BKK-SGN
  I kept flying Thai Air despite the Nepal crash and Surat Thani crash

I would even fly Biman again if I could get a ticket for 712 euro business class as before ( please don't send me to a mental institution )
But I will never fly Alitalia or AF again, on personnel grounds. Food poisoning, unrefunded damaged luggage, lousy service and what AF concerns: no more CDG for me, thank you. And I disregard El Al options because I don't want to be interrogated for a long time.

My personnel attitude towards crashes is that nobody wanted this ( maybe 1 exception: the Egypt Air pilot suicide ? ) and that everybody does its best to avoid it. A crash, another crash and even a third crash ( Biman , Vietnam Airlines ) don't influence my decision to choose an airline.

[regi]

for the interested: a movie of a B744 being struck by lightning. ( no, this is not to fuel speculation, just to show members how it looks : impressive ! )
http://www.myvideo.co.za/video/boeing-7 ... on-takeoff

[cathay belgium]

Regi,

Your replies reading,MMM...
Maybe you must DO CONSIDER avoiding some planes as your guardening angel is almost tired
of all that work of staying you alive!!

Offcourse any crash had their reasons but IMHO this could happen to any (normal) airlines wich include
also Ethiopian,TG,SN!,Swiss,...
I also would fly any of these and even consider some AFI carriers as even with them included air traffic
is more safe than taking my car each day and driving almost 40.000 km/year with it!

But some aircrashes are just that more sensational than some car crashes.
I only so 1 crash in my life ( airshow Kleine Brogel some years ago) but only today I saw 2 car crashes and
I can confirm that these even looked even spectacular!

Hope they can find the black Boxes and the reason of this crash so airtravel can even be more safe in the future, thinking of how many 737-800 are flying today! ( only keeping FR in mind already)

Cx-B

[sean1982]

Speaking of FR, the accident plane was an ex-Ryanair. Was parked in April 09 and sold in September 09. Was flying for Ethiopian since December 09. The registration in FR was EI-CSW, with additional "Girona, Costa Brava" titles. A plane that I worked on a lot when it was brand new in the company

[regi]

the black boxes have been localised

[regi]

Regi,

Your replies reading,MMM...
Maybe you must DO CONSIDER avoiding some planes as your guardening angel is almost tired
of all that work of staying you alive!!

Offcourse any crash had their reasons but IMHO this could happen to any (normal) airlines wich include
also Ethiopian,TG,SN!,Swiss,...
I also would fly any of these and even consider some AFI carriers as even with them included air traffic
is more safe than taking my car each day and driving almost 40.000 km/year with it!

But some aircrashes are just that more sensational than some car crashes.
I only so 1 crash in my life ( airshow Kleine Brogel some years ago) but only today I saw 2 car crashes and
I can confirm that these even looked even spectacular!

Hope they can find the black Boxes and the reason of this crash so airtravel can even be more safe in the future, thinking of how many 737-800 are flying today! ( only keeping FR in mind already)

Cx-B

wrong: I don't have a guardian angel. I had so much bad luck in my life already that I may assume that I am blacklisted or that he is on permanent leave.
for the rest: right, I have the same attitude towards air crashes.
By the way: surviving a crash doesn't mean that you are lucky. Imagine that you are that sole survivor of the Yak-40 Vietnam Airlines crash. It took several days before they were rescued . She had to hear day after day how other passengers slowly died. Horrible.

[regi]

according the folowing article in Dutch,
the crash is caused by an error by the pilot. This was the conclusion after the black boxes were retrieved.
http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/960/Buitenland ... anon.dhtml

Fout van de piloot veroorzaakte crash Libanon

[andorra-airport]

"The investigation team has reached an early conclusion that it was pilot error, based on the information from the black box," the source told Reuters.
An investigation team involving Lebanese, French and Ethiopian officials had headed to France on Monday with the flight recorders, commonly known as "black boxes", for analysis.

The pilot had failed to respond to the control tower's request to change direction even though he acknowledged their demands. The plane made a sharp turn before disappearing off the radar, the Lebanese transport minister said at the time. "