AVIATION/ ETHIOPIAN FL409 PILOTS KNEW DISASTER IMMINENT

The Pilots of the ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES Boeing 737 which crashed shortly after takeoff from Beirut on January 25 last year received several cockpit warnings that disaster was imminent, according to an investigative Report probing the disaster, made public over the weekend. The Transport and Public Works Ministry investigation Progress Report into the crash, which killed all 90 passengers and crew onboard Flight 409,  revealed Saturday how successive signals, designed to alert a Pilot to the dangers of stalling or turning too hard, were issued in the moments before the Boeing 737-800 plunged into the sea. The Caretaker Transport and Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi said that a full analysis into the causes behind the crash would be available before the end of July. The 737 crashed into the Mediterranean less than 4 minutes after takeoff, after performing 2 maneuvers ordered by Beirut’s Air Traffic Control. Data contained in flight recorders retrieved from the crash site show how the aircraft turned slightly immediately after leaving runway 21, before being instructed to bank reasonably hard to its left. It was during this move that the plane got into trouble, plunging 8000 feet before disappearing from radar screens. The cockpit of a Boeing 737-800 has several ways of communicating to the Pilot that a plane is in danger. The stick shaker warns that a plane is in danger of stalling; a “Bank Warning” shows when too steep a turn is being attempted and  an over-speed clacker warns against performing a tricky maneuver at high speed, which risks structural damage to an aircraft. According the report, the Pilots onboard Flight 409 received all 3 alerts, including 10 “Bank Warnings” and 2 “stick shakers” before the plane fell from the sky. Aridi himself blamed the Ethiopian Airlines’ flight crew, claiming in the days following the crash that Captain had performed “a fast and strange turn,” before the crash. Possible contributing factors have either been explored or dismissed by the Report and logs taken before Flight 409’s takeoff showed no abnormalities with the plane. Weather conditions at the time have also been factored into the crash probe. “The accident occurred at night in dark lighting conditions with reported isolated cumulonimbus and thunderstorms in the area,” the Report said. Cloud cover at half-past midnight on Janurary 25 began at 2000 feet, possibly obscuring the Pilot’s view or contributing to spatial disorientation, a known factor in previous crashes. The Report indicates that eyewitness reports, some of which suggested the aircraft entered the sea off Naameh in flames, were still to be analyzed. “No evidence of fire has been brought up,” the Report said. “All components appeared clean except for some black soot traces found around the APU which will be addressed and analyzed. “At this stage of the investigation additional information is being verified for consistency with recorded data and wreckage examination findings prior to use in the investigation,” the Report said. “This information includes various documents, testimonies and interviews conducted since the accident happened.” Aridi announced he knew the causes of the crash, but was waiting for an agreement between the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority, Ethiopian Airlines and Boeing to be finalized before releasing the ministry’s Final Report in July.