Originally Posted by
NoelEvans
There is an excellent article in Flight International this week: "Questions persist after Ethiopian loss".
Thankyou for the heads-up. When looking for that I also saw this previous article from Flight Global:
Investigation into the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max crash is likely to be scrutinised as much for impartiality and independence as for its analysis of technical and operational circumstances.
Under ICAO standards Ethiopian authorities are poised to lead the inquiry into the 10 March accident involving the Nairobi-bound flight ET302, which occurred just outside Addis Ababa.But Ethiopian investigators are likely to face pressure for full transparency – not just to satisfy concerns over the 737 Max, following the airline’s decision to ground the type, but to ensure there is no repeat of the controversy which tainted a previous fatal 737 accident probe involving the same carrier.
Lebanese investigators conducted an inquiry into the loss of Ethiopian flight ET409, a Boeing 737-800, which crashed into the sea just 4min after taking off from Beirut in February 2010.The inquiry concluded that the crew lost control of the jet as a result of “inconsistent” flight-control input and “mismanagement” of airspeed, altitude and attitude, adding that the aircraft was out of trim.It stated that the first officer failed to demonstrate sufficient assertiveness to intervene despite multiple warnings – including stick-shaker activation – and evidence that the captain, who was flying, was showing signs of disorientation and loss of situational awareness.The inquiry attributed the crash to a combination of “failure in basic piloting skills” by the captain, combined with inadequate crew resource management from the first officer, and queried the decision to pair the two.While the pilots met Ethiopian’s criteria for pairing the inquiry pointed out that their levels of experience “did not constitute a comfortable margin”, particularly for operation under demanding conditions.
Despite the in-depth analysis by the Lebanese investigators, both Ethiopian Airlines and the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority strongly condemned the conclusions.The ECAA claimed the inquiry report was an “unbalanced account” containing “factual inaccuracies, internal contradictions and hypothetical statements” which were not supported by evidence.In an extraordinary formal statement the authority insisted that the most probable cause of the crash was the break-up of the jet following an explosion – the result of sabotage, a lightning strike, or being shot down.The ECAA rejected the findings of crew mismanagement of the 737-800, claiming that flight-data recorder information revealed stabiliser and roll movements suggestive of damage to the tail section.....[etc]