January 17, 2012
Ethiopian Airlines said Tuesday the 2010 crash of its jet off Lebanon was likely caused by sabotage, a lightning strike or was shot down, rejecting an official Lebanese probe blaming pilot error.
"The aircraft disintegrated in the air due to explosion, which could have been caused by a shoot-down, sabotage or lightning strike," Desta Zeru, vice president of flight operations for Ethiopian Airlines, said in a statement.
A Lebanese government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP Tuesday that its investigations blamed the crew's mistakes in piloting the jet when it went down in stormy weather on January 25, 2010.
However, the airline's own accident report released Tuesday said witnesses saw an explosion in the sky before the jet crashed into the sea, indicative of "external damage" inflicted, Desta told reporters.
The airline had already rejected an earlier draft report from Lebanon, and instead maintained the pilots were alert at the time of the crash, according to black box evidence.
"It's biased, it's missing facts, [it includes] hypotheses and conveniently excludes hard facts. We totally reject it," Desta said.
Desta accused Lebanese authorities of omitting the majority of the wreckage from the investigation and said Lebanon "ignored crucial information," such as security footage and autopsy records.
The aircraft crashed into the Mediterranean less than five minutes after take-off, killing all 90 people on board.
Lebanese authorities and Ethiopian airlines have been investigating the cause of the crash for two years, but have disagreed on its cause.
Lebanon news - NOW Lebanon -Ethiopia Airlines denies pilot error in Lebanon jet crash