Lebanon owes Ethiopia an explanation
7-03-2010, 07:53. Author: suleyman
Lebanon owes Ethiopia an explanation
By Samuel Gebru
Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET409 was scheduled to fly from Beirut to Addis Ababa on January 25, 2010 when it plunged into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after taking off. All 82 passengers and 8 crewmembers are presumed dead. The aircraft was a Boeing 737-8AS registered with Ethiopian Airlines as ET-ANB and crashed shortly after taking off from Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport bound to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. Beirut’s weather was unfavorable with thunder and lightening storms at the time. After 5 minutes in flight, all radar contact was lost with the plane.
Lebanon, the U.N., the U.S., France, Britain and Cyprus carried out the search and rescue mission jointly. Later, the Lebanon, Ethiopia, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety and Boeing Company all cooperated in a joint investigation.
On the morning and the days following the crash, high-level authorities of the Government of Lebanon issued statements and interviews to the press ruling out terrorism. Lebanese officials from the President to the Health Minister all voiced their opinions to the public, creating an atmosphere of confusion and assumptions without the official results of the investigation.
The Government of Lebanon has used the crash of ET409 for political gain. Statements from Lebanon’s President, Michel Suleiman, ruled out terrorism. Information Minister Tarek Mitri claimed that weather was not a problem. Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi and Defense Minister Elias el-Murr both blamed the pilot for failing to follow Lebanese air traffic control. Lebanon’s officials have continuously stated various reasons for why they think the plane crashed without having any evidence. Their public statements have caused unnecessary confusion in the path to finding out what happened on January 25.
The quickness of Lebanon’s Government to rule out terrorism has caused suspicion, particularly since the declaration happened the day after the crash when no investigation had been conducted. Not only did Lebanon breach a gag agreement made with Ethiopia but also tampered with evidence and withheld information. It has been reported that the Cockpit Voice Recorder, commonly referred to as the black boxes, was missing 2 minutes of recording, which is odd considering that they should hold 30 minutes worth of recording. The U.S. Federal Aviation Authority requires that the recording duration be a minimum of 30 minutes. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, however, recommends 2 hours. U.S. Federal Aviation Regulation Section 121.359 on Cockpit Voice Recorders reads:
“In complying with this section, an approved cockpit voice recorder having an erasure feature may be used, so that at any time during the operation of the recorder, information recorded more than 30 minutes earlier may be erased or otherwise obliterated.”
Thus we are able to conclude that if the estimated flight time was between 4 and 5 minutes, the entire flight should have been able to be recorded. Interestingly, the Ethiopian investigators that went to both Lebanon and France were only given 2 minutes of the recorder. The Government of Lebanon owes the Government of Ethiopia as well as the Governments of France, Britain, Russia, Canada, Syria and Iraq an explanation as to:
a) Why it took 15 days to retrieve the black boxes after they were spotted, being located on January 29 and retrieved on February 14,
b) Why the original gag agreement was not respected,
c) Why various Lebanese Cabinet Ministers including the President and Prime Minister have all given their own variations of what happened on January 25,
d) Why terrorism was ruled out so quickly even amidst reports of locals seeing the Ethiopian Airlines jet on fire and when some recovered victims showed fire wounds,
e) Why Ethiopian Airlines was denied access to meet with the families of the 51 Lebanese victims in order to discuss insurance-related matters,
f) Why the Ethiopian investigation team was not allowed to visit the crash site,
g) Why the entire Boeing 737 jet has not been retrieved yet, with the majority of the plane said to still be in the Mediterranean Sea over a month after the crash,
h) Why the Civil Aviation Authority of Lebanon denied the Ethiopian investigation team access to the entire contents of the flight recorder, and
i) Why Lebanon’s authorities were quick to use Ethiopian Airlines ET409 Captain Habtamu Benti and his Co-Captain Alula Tamrat as scapegoats.
According to Ethiopian Airlines, there were 90 people on board from Ethiopia, Lebanon, France, Britain, Russia, Canada, Syria and Iraq. The only French national was the wife of the French Ambassador to Lebanon. On February 23 the Lebanon stated that all bodies had been recovered and identified and will be repatriated.
Lebanese Ministers must understand that ET409 should not be used to garner political support for the Government of Lebanon, which has pictured itself as the “champion” in this situation at the expense of the reputation an airline carrier. Ethiopian Airlines, the flag carrier of Ethiopia, is one of the safest airlines in the world and arguably the safest in Africa. The only two accidents in Ethiopian Airlines’ over 60 years history has not been the result of pilot error: the first, nonfatal, was due to a flock of birds that flew into the engine and the second, partially fatal, was a result of a hijacking. Thus, Lebanon’s quick conclusion of pilot error must be taken with heavy skepticism.
I would like to express my sincerest condolences to all of the families and friends that have been affected by the loss of the 90 people aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET409.
Samuel Gebru
By Samuel Gebru
Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET409 was scheduled to fly from Beirut to Addis Ababa on January 25, 2010 when it plunged into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after taking off. All 82 passengers and 8 crewmembers are presumed dead. The aircraft was a Boeing 737-8AS registered with Ethiopian Airlines as ET-ANB and crashed shortly after taking off from Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport bound to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. Beirut’s weather was unfavorable with thunder and lightening storms at the time. After 5 minutes in flight, all radar contact was lost with the plane.Lebanon, the U.N., the U.S., France, Britain and Cyprus carried out the search and rescue mission jointly. Later, the Lebanon, Ethiopia, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety and Boeing Company all cooperated in a joint investigation.
On the morning and the days following the crash, high-level authorities of the Government of Lebanon issued statements and interviews to the press ruling out terrorism. Lebanese officials from the President to the Health Minister all voiced their opinions to the public, creating an atmosphere of confusion and assumptions without the official results of the investigation.
The Government of Lebanon has used the crash of ET409 for political gain. Statements from Lebanon’s President, Michel Suleiman, ruled out terrorism. Information Minister Tarek Mitri claimed that weather was not a problem. Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi and Defense Minister Elias el-Murr both blamed the pilot for failing to follow Lebanese air traffic control. Lebanon’s officials have continuously stated various reasons for why they think the plane crashed without having any evidence. Their public statements have caused unnecessary confusion in the path to finding out what happened on January 25.
The quickness of Lebanon’s Government to rule out terrorism has caused suspicion, particularly since the declaration happened the day after the crash when no investigation had been conducted. Not only did Lebanon breach a gag agreement made with Ethiopia but also tampered with evidence and withheld information. It has been reported that the Cockpit Voice Recorder, commonly referred to as the black boxes, was missing 2 minutes of recording, which is odd considering that they should hold 30 minutes worth of recording. The U.S. Federal Aviation Authority requires that the recording duration be a minimum of 30 minutes. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, however, recommends 2 hours. U.S. Federal Aviation Regulation Section 121.359 on Cockpit Voice Recorders reads:
“In complying with this section, an approved cockpit voice recorder having an erasure feature may be used, so that at any time during the operation of the recorder, information recorded more than 30 minutes earlier may be erased or otherwise obliterated.”
Thus we are able to conclude that if the estimated flight time was between 4 and 5 minutes, the entire flight should have been able to be recorded. Interestingly, the Ethiopian investigators that went to both Lebanon and France were only given 2 minutes of the recorder. The Government of Lebanon owes the Government of Ethiopia as well as the Governments of France, Britain, Russia, Canada, Syria and Iraq an explanation as to:
a) Why it took 15 days to retrieve the black boxes after they were spotted, being located on January 29 and retrieved on February 14,
b) Why the original gag agreement was not respected,
c) Why various Lebanese Cabinet Ministers including the President and Prime Minister have all given their own variations of what happened on January 25,
d) Why terrorism was ruled out so quickly even amidst reports of locals seeing the Ethiopian Airlines jet on fire and when some recovered victims showed fire wounds,
e) Why Ethiopian Airlines was denied access to meet with the families of the 51 Lebanese victims in order to discuss insurance-related matters,
f) Why the Ethiopian investigation team was not allowed to visit the crash site,
g) Why the entire Boeing 737 jet has not been retrieved yet, with the majority of the plane said to still be in the Mediterranean Sea over a month after the crash,
h) Why the Civil Aviation Authority of Lebanon denied the Ethiopian investigation team access to the entire contents of the flight recorder, and
i) Why Lebanon’s authorities were quick to use Ethiopian Airlines ET409 Captain Habtamu Benti and his Co-Captain Alula Tamrat as scapegoats.
According to Ethiopian Airlines, there were 90 people on board from Ethiopia, Lebanon, France, Britain, Russia, Canada, Syria and Iraq. The only French national was the wife of the French Ambassador to Lebanon. On February 23 the Lebanon stated that all bodies had been recovered and identified and will be repatriated.
Lebanese Ministers must understand that ET409 should not be used to garner political support for the Government of Lebanon, which has pictured itself as the “champion” in this situation at the expense of the reputation an airline carrier. Ethiopian Airlines, the flag carrier of Ethiopia, is one of the safest airlines in the world and arguably the safest in Africa. The only two accidents in Ethiopian Airlines’ over 60 years history has not been the result of pilot error: the first, nonfatal, was due to a flock of birds that flew into the engine and the second, partially fatal, was a result of a hijacking. Thus, Lebanon’s quick conclusion of pilot error must be taken with heavy skepticism.
I would like to express my sincerest condolences to all of the families and friends that have been affected by the loss of the 90 people aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET409.
Samuel Gebru
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