Pilot of crashed Ethiopian Airline had over 200 flight hours

A First Officer of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed on Sunday (March 10) had more than 200 flight hours, the airline’s Chief Executive Officer Tewolde Gebremariam told journalists.

Tewolde Gebremariam also expressed condolences to the families and friends of all 157 people who died on board of passenger jet bound for Nairobi that crashed minutes after take-off early on Sunday.

Flight ET 302, registration number ET-AVJ, crashed near the town of Bishoftu, 62 km (38 miles) southeast of the capital Addis Ababa.

The aircraft shattered and was severely burnt, a Reuters reporter at the scene of the crash said. Clothing and personal effects were scattered widely over the field where the plane came down.

Ethiopian’s new aircraft had no recorded technical problems, Tewolde said in a news conference.

The airline is one of the biggest carriers on the continent by fleet size and the plane was among six of 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets the rapidly expanding carrier has ordered.