An Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed shortly after takeoff from Ethiopia’s capital Sunday morning, killing all 157 on board including eight Americans, authorities said, as grieving families rushed to airports in Addis Ababa and the destination, Nairobi.
The passengers were from 35 nations, the airline said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash of the Boeing 737-8 MAX plane, which was new and had been delivered to the airline in November. The pilot sent out a distress call and was given clearance to return, the airline’s CEO told reporters.
It's the second time in less than six months, a brand-new Boeing aircraft has crashed just minutes into a flight. The tragedy follows the Boeing 737-8 MAX that plunged into the Java Sea just minutes after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, killing all 189 people on board the plane Lion Air flight. The cockpit data recorder showed that the jet’s airspeed indicator had malfunctioned on its last four flights, though Lion Air initially claimed that problems with the aircraft had been fixed.