By Desalegn Sisay | Afrik.com

ADDIS ABABA — ACE Global Markets, a British insurance company, is expected to pay 39 million dollars in compensation for the crash of Ethiopian airlines flight 409, a Boeing 737-800, off the coast of Beirut.

The public relations department of the airline told The Reporter, a local newspaper, that the 39 million dollar compensation is only for the airplane hull value payable to the owner of the aircraft.

Ethiopian leased the crashed B737 last September from CTI Aerospace, an aviation company. The plane was built in 2002 and operated with Irish discount carrier Ryanair Holdings Plc until April last year, when it went to CIT Group Inc.

The public relation department of the airlines declined to comment on the amount of the insurance coverage for each of the passengers and crew.

Ethiopian Airlines’ local state owned insurer, Ethiopian Insurance Corporation, is still awaiting official report to determine the cause of the accident to enable it decide on the amount of the compensation, a source from the insurance firm said.

The reasons for the crash remain unknown.

The crash is the fourth fatal accident for Boeing’s newest generation of 737 jets introduced 12 years ago and Ethiopian Airlines’ first since 1988, excluding a fatal hijacking in 1996, data compiled by London-based Ascend Worldwide Ltd reveals.

The plane, a Boeing 737-800 carrying 83 passengers and seven crew members, crashed immediately after take off from Beirut airport in Lebanon on January 25, 2010 around midnight GMT. It was a direct flight to Addis Ababa.